


You Know You Love Me

by Caelan_Vyn



Series: You Know You Love Me [1]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Crime Drama, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Suggestive Themes, Thriller, fluff and chill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7076536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caelan_Vyn/pseuds/Caelan_Vyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set shortly after the events of Zootopia, this story follows Nick and Judy as their relationship grows deeper, and a disturbing new villain comes to light. Part thriller, part slice-of-life, part romance. (WildeHopps)</p><p>update coming soon(tm)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Flash

“You know you love me,” Nick Wilde said, leaning over at his partner in the driver’s seat with a sly grin on his muzzle.

Judy Hopps met his gaze evenly with a thoughtful look, not one to be riled by the sharp fox. “Do I know that?” she asked aloud. “Yes, yes I do,” she smiled back at the fox. Nick’s grin only seemed to grow wider as the bunny nonchalantly turned her attention back to the wheel and the road, rolling the police cruiser forward through the intersection –

Only to immediately stop as a red-and-white striped sports car roared through the intersection, very nearly colliding with the front of the cruiser. The pair were stunned for a moment, before a different kind of smile crossed Judy’s face; the satisfied, self-righteous kind of smile that says _oh, you are in for it now._

Nick flicked his shades open and put them on, drawing a quick eye-roll from Judy, before he activated the lights and siren. Just before Judy wrenched the wheel and floored the accelerator, she could swear she saw Nick checking his reflection in his side-view mirror.

The cruiser’s engine growled deeper than the racer’s as it took off down the street, jostling the small occupants of the car as Judy spun through the corner and readjusted to keep in her lane. The red racer, despite running a red light and nearly smashing into the much tougher police cruiser, had slowed down somewhat and Judy caught up easily. Surprisingly, the racer slowed and pulled over, and Judy kept a short distance just behind the racer and pulled over simultaneously.

“I’ll be, Carrots,” Nick said from behind his shades as they pulled to a smooth stop. “That was some pretty good driving.”

“Oh really?” said Judy as she retrieved her pen and pad from the console. _Wait for it..._ she thought.

“For a bunny,” finished Nick as he opened his door to step out.

 _There it is_ , Judy mused with a shake of her head. _Just can’t resist._ She checked for traffic and exited the vehicle, overtaking Nick to be the first at the racer’s window. She made a mental note of the racer’s license plate: FSTNML.

“Sir, you were going one-hundred and fifteen miles per hour, I hope you have a good explanation,” Judy said as she walked up to the window, hands on hips.

After a moment the window rolled down, revealing a very guilty-looking sloth.

“Flash, Flash, hundred-yard dash!” Nick exclaimed, taking off his sunglasses for a better look into the vehicle.

Ever so slowly, Flash’s expression morphed from guilty to a languid, lazy smile. His eyes drooped and his mouth opened, and eventually, he drawled, “Niiiiiiiiiiick.”

“Hey, buddy,” Nick smirked, leaning his forearms on the window as though he were having a chat over a countertop. “I’d love to stop and chat for old times’ sake, but Officer Fluff here might have different ideas.”

Judy sighed and shot a quick glare at Nick, before focusing back on the sloth. “Flash, we’ve had reports of a street racer operating here in Central, you know anything about that?”

“Well…” Flash started slowly. “That… would… be me… Officer. You see…”

Judy tapped her foot restlessly as the sloth droned on. Even Nick, who usually loved to see the bunny agitated, felt a strong compulsion to play with his phone.

“When… I get… going… it takes… a while… for me…”

Nick slumped further over, putting his forehead on his arms, sighing explosively. Judy rolled her eyes and looked around restlessly.

“To let… off… the gas.” the sloth finally finished.

“That’s your excuse?” Judy said incredulously. “So you’re saying you’re _not_ street-racing, just can’t take your foot off the gas fast enough?”

“Hopps,” Nick said, standing up straight and tapping the shorter bunny on the shoulder. “Come back here a sec, let’s run that plate.”

“It doesn’t take two… oh,” Judy started, but changed tack when Nick raised his eyebrows at her, picking up he had something to talk about not meant for other ears, even if those ears did register at the speed of molasses.

She pointed at Flash. “Can I see your license, Mr. Flash?”

“… Sure,” Flash said, and started slowly, ever so slowly reaching for his glovebox. While he was busy, Judy quietly stepped around to the back of the racer to join Nick.

“Now, far be it from me to stop the ZPD’s most notorious traffic officer from doing her job,” Nick smirked, keeping his voice low, “but we do owe Flash a favour, for his help with the Night Howler case, Hopps.”

“I know,” Judy said brightly. “I was thinking of letting him off with a warning and a fine, actually, depending on what his plate pulls up.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Nick said. “How about you deal with speedy there, and I run the plate?”

“Rrrrgghh,” Judy growled softly. “Fine, _if_ you buy our next coffee.”

Nick laughed easily. “It’s a deal.” He turned tail and headed to the cruiser, whistling a few notes in a major tune.

“Also…” Judy called, and Nick stopped and looked over his shoulder. “When we’re dealing with _real_ criminals, it’s Officer _Hopps_ , NOT Officer _Fluff_.”

Nick was about to crack a joke before he caught the steely glint in Judy’s eye, and his growing smile evaporated. “Sure thing,” he said a little lamely, tail drooping a little, and headed back to the cruiser.

Judy smiled and went back to the driver’s window just as Flash was passing his license over. “Here… you go.”

“Thank you,” Judy said sweetly, taking his license and giving it a quick validity check. It proved genuine and she looked over to the cruiser, where Nick was keying something into the dash computer.

“Could you just wait here for a minute, Flash?” she asked.

“… Sure.” was the delayed response, and a slow-motion nervous smile. Judy walked back to the cruiser and hopped up into the driver’s seat, still with Flash’s license.

“You’re not gonna believe this, Carrots,” Nick said from the passenger seat, looking at the screen set into the dashboard. “Guess how many traffic violations Lightning Mc-Sloth’s plate pulled up?”

“Ten?” Judy said hesitantly.

“ _Zero_ ,” Nick said, shaking his head. “No tickets, no fines, nothing. Either this is the first time Flash’s ever really put his foot down or… I dunno. Or something.”

“Hmm,” Judy murmured. “You know him, Nick, what do you think?”

“Uh, I don’t want to surprise you, Carrots,” Nick stage-whispered, “But he didn’t get called hundred-yard dash for his running ability. Something doesn’t add up.”

They thought in silence for a moment. “Not his usual car?” Judy suggested.

“I think you might be right,” Nick responded. “But if we want to check for prior offences, we have to do that at the station.”

“Right,” Judy said. “So,” she looked over at Nick with an eyebrow raised, “Ticket and a warning?”

“Sounds fair,” Nick said, leaning back in his seat with his hands behind his head. “You’re the traffic bunny, better get out there and make the streets a safer place.”

“Lazy fox,” she ribbed with a smile, which Nick returned smoothly. She opened the door and jumped down to the street, briskly walking up to the ‘racer’.

Nick watched her walk behind his shades, eyes admittedly drawn to her fluffy tail. He pretended not to be watching, of course, and even though Judy wasn’t looking his way he still tilted his head all around, pretending to inspect anything but her tail, and curvy hips, and powerful legs that looked good in uniform…

Nick shifted again, actually looking away this time and trying to brush away those thoughts. _Quite enough of that, Wilde,_ he thought. _She’s my partner, my friend. Can’t be thinking like this._

Judy handed Flash his license back and wrote him up a speeding ticket. “Well Mr. Flash, please be more careful and _do not_ speed in the future. If you cannot control your vehicle, we won’t allow you on the road. You’re lucky the intersection was clear and that I stopped in time.” She ripped the ticket out from the back of her notebook and handed it to him.

Slowly, Flash reached for the ticket. “Of… course… Officer,” he said, curved claws eventually grasping around the paper, which he started to put in the glovebox with his license. “This won’t… happen… again.”

“Right, good day!” Judy blurted out impatiently and practically hopped back to the cruiser. She opened the door and jumped up, fastened her seatbelt and clicked off the lights, then grabbed the radio.

“This is Officer Hopps to Precinct One Dispatch,” she said, enunciating clearly. “’Street-racer’ turned out to have no prior offences, warned and ticketed.” She lifted her thumb off the radio and passed it to Nick. “You take over, I’ll drive.”

“Sure,” Nick said, taking the radio as Judy checked traffic was clear and pulled back onto the road and drove off.

“Dispatch to Hopps,” the radio buzzed, Clawhauser’s compressed voice coming through. “Chief wants to know who it was.”

“Officer Wilde here,” Nick said into the radio. “A sloth named Flash, works at the DMV. He helped us out with the Night Howler case. We ran his plate and got nothing. Hopps and I decided to let him off with a ticket and a talking-to from the dreaded traffic bunny.” He lifted his thumb off the radio just as Judy leaned over and jokingly punched him in the arm.

“Ow!” Nick exclaimed in mostly-fake pain. “Eyes on the road, Hopps!”

“I don’t think the ‘traffic bunny’ needs driving advice, Mr. Fox,” Judy said mirthfully, a silly smile on her muzzle. “Keep it professional over the radio.”

“Yes ma’am,” Nick said with as much sarcasm as he could muster. His partner gave him a quick sideways glare, but said nothing. _She really is just too cute when she’s mad_. The thought popped unbidden into Nick’s head. He was suddenly thankful his shades and easy smirk kept most of his emotions unreadable. _Focus, Nick._

“Dispatch. Chief says fair enough, and well done. He wants you and Hopps to patrol Savannah Square until further notice,” Clawhauser said over the radio.

“Wilde here, understood, patrolling Savannah Square.” Nick repeated the key parts back.

“And Officer Wilde, can you pass us the license plate so we can do a proper background check? Chief wants to make sure we got our racer.”

“Copy Dispatch. Plate is: Foxtrot, Sierra, Tango, November, Mike, Lima.”

There was radio silence for a moment, presumably as Clawhauser copied it down. “Haha! Copy Wilde, Dispatch out.”

Nick returned the radio to its cradle. “Well, Officer Fluff, how about I get us that coffee for a job well done?”

‘Splendid,” she said happily, bouncing a little in her seat, presumably either from Bogo’s compliment or just a job well done.

“You’re looking upbeat, Hopps,” Nick observed.

“Well, let’s review,” Judy started, bouncing a little more pronouncedly. “Another day at my job, which I love. Another assignment complete, and quickly too, which means we impressed the boss. And finally,” she said with an honest, open grin at her partner, “Free coffee from my favourite fox.”

“Your _favourite_ fox?” Nick clarified with a smirk. “High praise indeed. You lift my spirits too, you know.”

“Good. I like that you’re happy,” Judy shot back, perhaps a little too quickly.

Nick lowered his glasses with a paw. “Is that so?”

Judy shrugged. “Mmhmm.” She found a convenient park and smoothly rolled the cruiser in, shutting off the engine before looking to her partner. “Off you go.”

“What?” Nick said.

“Coffee, doofus,” she said, pointing out her window at the coffee shop on the corner nearby.

“Oh!” Nick exclaimed. “Right… be right back.”

Nick opened his door and slinked out, going round the front of the car with a quick glance at Judy. She was watching him, apparently just bored and idle. Nick resisted the urge to wink or do anything stupid, and made for the coffee shop.

Judy kept watching Nick, partly for lack of anything better to do, partly for… _well…_ _He’s just interesting to watch. That’s all,_ she thought. She watched the way his tail idly swished as he walked. Noticed how he whipped his glasses off and deftly tucked them in his shirt pocket. The way he looked totally at ease waiting in line, hands in pockets, even though he was drawing odd looks as the ZPD’s first and only fox cop. The way he casually leaned over the counter to order, giving the feline barista a quick and easy smile as he placed their order. He took a seat while he waited, spinning it around so the back was facing Judy, and sitting on it facing her, arms on the chair back. He gave her a wink and a tiny wave, just lifting one paw off the chair.

Judy smiled back almost involuntarily. “Charming fox,” she muttered. She leaned her face on a closed paw, watching as Nick’s bright green eyes searched around the café in boredom, before she quite realised what she was doing.

She turned back to the wheel, suddenly very interested in finding something else to do, so she pulled out her phone to check for… anything really. Her mind was elsewhere. _Get it together, Judy. Nick is just my partner. That’s it._ She thumbed through her phone for a minute, just checking emails and social media, before she sighed and looked back over to the café. Nick was coming back over with two coffees in a cardboard holder. Her ears perked up a little as he made his way around the vehicle.

He opened his door and climbed up carefully. “Here you go, Officer Fluff,” he said, ceremoniously handing over a cup. “One flat white with pumpkin spice.”

“Thanks, Nick,” she said, grabbing her coffee and taking a sip. She sighed happily and put the cup in the cruiser’s holder, and was about to restart the engine when a thought struck her.

“Nick. How did you know what coffee I like?” she looked over at Nick, who was taking a long gulp of his coffee. His ears twitched, but apart from that he gave no sign he had heard the question.

After his theatrically long drink, he smirked. “I listen, Carrots,” he said simply.

“… Huh.” Judy said quietly, starting the car and pulling out of the parking space. The pair had caught up for the occasional coffee while Nick was in the academy, but she was highly surprised he’d remember such a small detail.

 _As if I wasn’t committing to memory everything I can about you._ More unwanted thoughts in Nick’s head. He washed them away with another drink.

“What kind of coffee do you like?” Judy asked conversationally after getting back up to speed with the traffic.

“Oh, you know me,” he said in that I’m-totally-joking sarcastic tone. “I like my coffee how I like my women.” Nick gestured at his smaller cup. “Short and strong.”

That got a laugh from Judy, which almost made Nick break out in a huge grin. He twisted it into his usual smirk at the last minute. Judy looked over at him, eyes still bright with laughter, a look that made Nick’s smirk dissolve. She looked like she was about to say something.

“Dispatch to all Savannah patrols!” The radio burst to life. Both their eyes flicked to it. “Violent disturbance called in near three-eight-two Pride Street, reported ‘small orange canine’ gone savage! Repeat, three-eight-two Pride Street, possible fox gone savage.”

Judy and Nick’s eyes met again, any trace of humour vanished. Both their eyes held tinges of fear, but if anything, Judy’s were the more steeled. She grabbed the radio. “Officer Hopps, copy Dispatch. Nick and I are en route.”


	2. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick get radio'd into a situation involving a savage fox.

Nick punched the lights and siren again, and Judy weaved the cruiser through the parting traffic expertly. “Pride is just a few blocks from here,” she said urgently. “Nick, get the tranquilizers checked and ready.”

“Right,” Nick said. He fished in his belt for a moment for a key, which he used to unlock a black box sitting between their chairs. When the lock clicked the lid lifted up automatically, revealing a pair of blue and yellow tranquilizer guns and several syringes. Nick took Judy’s first, and a syringe, and carefully inspected both for issues like he had been taught. _Spring, operational. Syringe, no air pockets, plumage looks good._ He carefully slotted a syringe into Judy’s gun before repeating the process with his own.

Meanwhile Judy was making tracks to the address, driving quickly but carefully as cars parted for the siren and lights. _Actually, she does drive better than me,_ Nick realised.

Even though he was somewhat afraid, Nick grabbed his gun and held it upright in both hands like a movie star and shot Judy an intense look. “What’s the plan, Hopps?”

She saw his antics out of the corner of her eye and smirked, just for a moment. “Just stay close, Nick. I’ll probably hear him first, but you have the better vision. We shouldn’t risk anything with a savage.”

“I can’t believe this,” Nick said quietly, mirth now vanished. “Six months of nothing, and now mammals are being hit with Night-Howler again.”

“What?” Judy said, sounding genuinely surprised. “Have you not been seeing the news? Mammals have been faking going savage a few times a _month_ since the case.”

“Oh? They… Oh! No, you’re right, I remember now!” Nick exclaimed, quickly thinking back. “I just assumed this one was real, since Clawhauser called it in.”

“Standard procedure,” Judy explained. “After the case, the ZPD made the decision to treat all ‘savage mammal’ reports as genuine until proven otherwise. Which, by the way, is what we are doing here.”

“Of course, Hopps,” Nick said. He took a deep breath. “I’m right there with you.”

Judy nodded, muzzle set in determination. Nick noticed the intensity in her eyes, her posture, and her movements as she guided the massive cruiser deftly through the streets. _This is one tough bunny._

“We’re here,” Judy said, all too soon for Nick. Rather than bother trying to find a park she cut the siren but left the cruiser idling in the lane with lights on, grabbed her tranquiliser and bolted out the door. Nick was right behind her.

“Three-eight-six, Three-eight-four, Three-eight-two!” Judy shouted, finding the address. It was a convenience store. She hopped on the spot once, twice, getting a look inside the shop. Lots of merchandise was missing from the walls and shopping rows.

Nick was at her side, peering into the building as well, eyes flashing all over and ears twitching. “Ready? I’ll get the door.” Judy said. Nick nodded and gave a thumbs up.

Judy positioned herself in front of the door and took a couple hops up to it, before kicking it open with a powerful side kick. “ZPD, FREEZE!” she shouted as she entered, her usually-small voice carrying impressively. Nick was moments behind her, carefully aiming all around the store, eyes alert. Feet apart they walked carefully into the store, starting with the closest middle aisle. They barely came up to the first shelf, the tall aisles looming on either side.

Packaging was strewn everywhere on the floor. Rows and rows of processed food had been apparently flung around. Judy shot a glance sideways at Nick, he raised an eyebrow back. _What’s with all the mess?_ He thought.

Halfway down the aisle, Judy cleared the left fork and Nick checked the right. “FREEZE! NOW!” Nick shouted, a vulpine snarl creeping into his voice. Judy spun around, ears twitching at the shout.

From their position they could see the counter, where a ragged-looking fox was snarling at them, down on all fours, on top of the counter. Behind him, an otter was going through the cash register, chucking all the notes he could into a plastic bag.

 _Doesn’t add up_ , Judy thought instantly. Her ears and nose twitched at the fox’s snarling, but she kept her steely gaze on him, tranquiliser up and ready to fire. Nick was sensing the same thing, staring hard at the bristling fox.

The feral fox snarled louder, almost a scream, teeth bared and eyes bulging, but stayed in one spot, legs bent in pouncing position on the register.

Nick spoke first, loudly projecting his voice to the robbers. “Well, that’s a very nice _savage_ impression there, fox, but maybe you forget, _we_ of all people KNOW A FAKE WHEN WE SEE ONE! HANDS ON YOUR HEADS, NOW!” Nick bared his teeth and growled when he was done for extra effect.

The otter yelped and complied immediately, but the fox kept snarling, until Judy shone her flashlight at the fox, having gotten it out of her belt while Nick was speaking. The fox blinked and yelped, “Ow!”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Judy said, tranquiliser still at the ready in the other hand.

“Alright, alright, take it chill!” the ragged fox warbled, getting up on his feet and putting his paws behind his head. Judy and Nick slowly approached.

“Both of you, knees on the floor,” Nick growled as he moved up. The rough fox sighed to himself and jumped down from the counter and sank to his knees.

Nick kept his tranquiliser trained on the fox with one hand while he retrieved his cuffs with the other. Judy easily hopped up and over the counter, and they cuffed a criminal each at about the same time.

Nick sighed, but he knew procedure. He pulled a collapsible muzzle out of his belt, arranged it to be the right size for the fox, and deftly slipped it over the offender’s face. _I’m always going to hate doing that._ He deliberately made sure it wasn’t too tight to cause any pain, unless the fox struggled against it.

Judy marched the otter around the counter and out to the main part of the store, joining Nick. “You two have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law,” she recited evenly. She was the picture of a diligent, confident cop – until her purple eyes met Nick’s. He could see fleeting traces of fear there, possibly that deeply-buried fear awoken by a feral predator, even if it was just a fake one. But as their eyes met, her gaze changed, from frightened, to stoic, to the kind of bravado only Nick inspired in her.

“And also,” she added in a more chipper tone, “The ‘fake-savage-scaring-out-customers’ robberies are getting _old._ ”

The two cops led the would-be robbers out the door, Nick behind the fox and Judy behind the otter. When they got outside, there was another police cruiser nearby on the footpath, lights flashing. It was still occupied.

A rhino and tiger in blue stepped out of the driver’s and passenger’s sides, respectively. The rhino, Roger McHorn, waved at Judy and Nick.

“What’s the situation, Hopps?” McHorn asked in his naturally booming voice.

Judy was about to answer when Nick spoke first. “Fake ‘fox-gone-feral’ felony foiled!” he quipped.

Judy rolled her eyes. “You probably started thinking that up when we got the call.” Nonetheless, her partner’s silly behaviour made her smile.

“Why, Carrots, do you doubt my light-speed wit?” he said in mock disdain. “’Quickest tongue in the Precinct’, they say.”

“ _You_ say,” corrected McHorn. Nick just smiled up at him, but the rhino’s face was its usual stony self. “Tell you what, Hopps,” McHorn continued, “why don’t you and Wilde take ‘em down to the station, we’ll clean up here.”

“Thanks, Roger,” Judy said, marching the otter to their cruiser, which was admittedly causing a bit of traffic by now, as cars had to go past it single-file. She opened the cruiser’s back door and ushered the otter in, who entered compliantly, then helped Nick move the fox in. Nick shut the door, locking the lawbreakers in the caged back half of the cruiser.

The fox and the bunny looked at each other for a moment, expressions composed and neutral.

“Good work, Nick,” Judy said.

“Nice one, Fluff,” Nick said at the same time. They both laughed, Judy’s laugh a little sheepish. She scratched behind her ears, which felt a little warm at Nick’s honest compliment.

“Great minds think alike,” Nick said, and walked around the cruiser to jump in the passenger seat. Judy got in the driver’s seat, buckled her seatbelt and started the engine, and waited for Nick to buckle in before setting off at a leisurely pace.

“Can you radio it in?” she asked Nick. “I’ll focus on driving.”

“Sure thing, Hopps,” Nick grabbed the radio and thumbed the button. “Officer Wilde to Dispatch. Disturbance at three-eight-two Pride Street taken care of. One fox and one otter apprehended. No savage mammals. Repeat, negative on savage mammals.”

“Oh thank god,” came Clawhauser’s crackling response through the radio. “Copy Wilde, no feral fox. Are you bringing them in?”

Nick was about to respond when Judy clicked her fingers, one hand out. Nick smirked and passed the radio.

“Officer Hopps here,” she said. “Dispatch, please stay within regulations over the air.” She let her thumb off the radio and winked at Nick, letting him know she was fooling with Clawhauser.

“S-sorry, Hopps,” Clawhauser said sheepishly.

“No problem. And yes, we are en route with the fox and otter,” she put the radio back in its cradle before taking a corner.

“Such a stickler for the rules, Carrots,” Nick ribbed, putting his shades back on. “Who would’ve thought this is the same bunny who got me to climb a fence for probable cause.”

“Well, Nick, who would’ve thought you’re the same fox who used to be a no-good pawpsicle hustler?” she shot back smoothly.

“Excuse me! I was very good at my job,” Nick said with mock indignation.

“Not when it comes to tax forms, dumb fox,” she joked, giving Nick a sideways smirk.

Nick chuckled and conceded, “Okay, you have a point there, sly bunny.” _Man, am I imagining it or does she smirk just like me sometimes?_

“Speaking of which,” Judy asked thoughtfully, “Did you fix that situation up?”

Nick gave a heart-broken sigh, leaning back and looking at her through his shades. “Yes, Carrots, though it pained my heart and my wallet. You are looking at one tax-clear fox.”

“Good!” she chirped. She paused for a second, taking another corner, then said warmly, “I’m proud of you, Nick Wilde.”

Nick felt a warmth in his chest and pawpads he was pretty sure had nothing to do with taxes. “Thanks, Carrots.” he said, completely honestly.

Judy tilted an ear his way. “Do I detect a hint of sincerity there?”

Nick chuckled. “You’re becoming more like me by the day, Fluff.”

“Well… stick around.” she said. _Eek. Was that too much? No, just being friendly._ Judy thought hurriedly. Still, her ears felt a bit warm. Nick raised his eyebrows behind his shades, but said nothing.

They rode in silence for a moment, before the ragged, dog-eared fox in the back spoke up. “Yeesh, get a room, you two!” he managed to mumble through the muzzle.

“Shut up.” Judy and Nick said simultaneously, then looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

“Oh, crackers.” Judy interrupted suddenly.

“What?” asked Nick.

“My coffee’s gone cold,” she said, taking a sip from her cup and frowning. “Ah well. Maybe my fox will get me another one some time.”

 _My fox?_ Nick repeated in his head. _I like the sound of that._

“Some time.” Nick agreed out loud.

“Maybe… for lunch?” Judy said, just a fraction more hesitantly than her usual voice.

Amazingly, Nick chose to resist the urge for a joke or a ribbing. “Sounds like a plan,” he echoed himself from earlier. His ears felt a little hot as well, so he scratched at them idly. _Don’t get ahead of yourself, Nick. She wants to get lunch, so what? That’s a thing cop buddies do, I’m sure. I mean, why wouldn’t they?_

Judy had no such qualms and looked plainly delighted. “Right, let’s process these two,” she announced, as she took a final corner and the ZPD Precinct came into view. She found a nearby park and out they went, the fox and the bunny, bringing the fox and otter in side by side.


	3. Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Judy share a long lunch, a small reward for a job well done.

Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps walked side-by-side out of the automatic door of the ZPD’s Precinct 1 and into the midday sun. Nick paused for a moment to take a deep breath, pull his shades out of his front pocket, flick them open and put them on.

“Mmmm. Feel that sun, Hopps. Prime Jumbo-pop melting weather,” he said, stretching his arms up wide and rolling his neck.

Judy giggled, brushing her ears up so they caught the sun, and hummed happily. Nick found this very distracting, in a good way.

“Sure is, slick.” she said, then spun around to face Nick, walking backwards with him to their cruiser. “So, Mr. I-Know-Everyone, know where to get a good lunch around here? I cleared it with the Chief, we’re off the clock for an hour.”

Nick’s ears and eyebrows perked up. “Really?” A smug smile grew across his muzzle. “You… crafty bunny!”

Judy just laughed, hopping back a couple times before spinning around to jump in the cruiser’s driver seat. Nick smirked and coolly walked around the vehicle and clambered into the passenger seat. _Such a little energizer bunny,_ he thought. _Funny how she makes hopping around look so… natural._

“Well,” Judy began, starting the engine, “Bogo was impressed we caught our racer so quickly. And speaking of, they did a background check – looks like Flash actually _does_ have a few racing convictions with other vehicles. If we catch him again, it’ll be a _little_ more than another fine.”

Nick shrugged. “Fair enough.” He knew Flash would keep just barely out of serious trouble, like always.

“But!” Judy continued, glancing at Nick before twisting round in her seat to reverse. “You avoided the question. Where to for lunch?”

“Uh…” Nick said. _Damn, I’m drawing a blank. What does Judy like? … I can’t recall if we’ve ever actually had a proper, sit-down meal together. How about that._ Eventually, Nick shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t think of anything. What do you like, Carrots?”

“Oh, you’ll remember my coffee but not anything you’ve ever seen me eat?” Judy teased with a fake frown.

Nick was unfazed. “I _am_ a miracle worker, but even I have limitations, Fluff,” he said.

Judy finished reversing into her lane and took off, surveying her surroundings as a matter of habit. “You know me, Nick,” she said, copying the fox’s words from earlier. “’Try everything’, that’s my motto.”

Nick nodded, expression frank. “That’ll get you in trouble someday, I bet.”

“Hmmph. Till then, though,” Judy said. Pause. “So… what do you like to eat?” she asked, a little shyness creeping into her voice.

 _Ha! You don’t remember either,_ Nick thought, but didn’t comment on it. “Let’s see,” he said, starting to tap a few items off on his paws. “I’m partial to tofu, as long as it’s prepared well and tastes meaty. Ooh, and eggs! Love me some eggs. You know, foxes and henhouses and all that.”

Judy chuckled. “Aw, Nick, you’re much too sweet to rampage about in a henhouse.”

Nick shrugged. “Whatever you say, Carrots. Oh, and I love berries, all kinds. Can’t stand bugs though, don’t know how some predators can stomach them.”

Judy’s ears twitched. _I’ll remember that,_ she thought.

“Come to think of it…” Nick continued, “I think I _do_ know a nice place. Little hole-in-the-wall bistro called Shelly’s, few minutes downtown from here, on Symonds Street. _Charming_ little place, good coffee, food’s tasty and cheap.”

“There we go!” Judy cheered. “Nick Wilde _can_ pick a place to eat after all.”

Nick grinned, paws going behind his head again to recline. “I _refuse_ to ever get in one of those,” he raised his voice an octave, “ _Oh, I don’t know, what do you feel like,_ arguments. If you miss your chance, I’m choosing, and that’s how it’s gonna be.”

“I can work with that,” Judy said. “Symonds Street it is.” She picked out a route and started heading downtown. Traffic increased and the roads got wider the further they went, but a police cruiser is respected everywhere, so they had a fairly easy time of navigating the lanes.

“Just out of curiosity, what’s your palate tuned to, Hopps? You must have a preference.” Nick asked.

“Eh.” Judy shrugged. “Fine, but you _don’t_ get to poke fun.”

Nick smirked naturally. “No promises.” _But you know I wouldn’t mean it if I did,_ he thought. He was pretty sure she knew it too.

“Rrgh. Fine,” Judy said with a sideways look at the confident fox. “Well, rabbits used to be herbivorous, obviously, so… fresh vegetables, and fruit,” she said in a bit of a hurry. “And pastries.”

“Pastries, huh? You know, I think we might be in luck, Carrots, Shelly’s does a mean apple and blueberry pie.” Nick mused.

“Mmm, I will hold you to that, Wilde,” Judy said. “Symonds is up here on the right, what’s the number?”

“Hmm, one-eight-nine, or one-nine-eight?” Nick mused aloud, rubbing the underside of his muzzle in thought. “Pretty sure it’s one-nine-eight.”

“Here we are then,” Judy said, pulling the cruiser into a nearby park. Nick did not look impressed.

“Hopps, we are at one hundred,” he said with a grave-looking frown. Judy just smiled brightly back.

“I saw a park and I took it, sweetheart,” she said in a slightly sing-song cadence. “Besides, you could use the exercise, lazy fox.”

Nick gave a dramatic sad sigh and rolled his eyes as he opened his door. “You _wound_ me, Officer Hopps. Running cons is far from ‘lazy’.”

Judy chuckled as she turned off the engine, took the keys and hopped out. Nick collected his sunglasses before Judy locked the cruiser, and they set off at Officer Hopps’ brisk pace.

Judy fanned her ears in the sun again, provoking a smile from Nick as he donned his black shades. _Lookin’ good, Carrots,_ Nick thought about saying. _Nah, too strong. Something easier to pass off as a joke._

“Hey, Carrots,” Nick said.

Judy turned around with a small smile, which to Nick, was a different kind of warm than just stepping into mere sunlight. “Yeah, Nick?” she said.

“Would it be terribly insensitive if I thought the way you warm your ears in the sun is cute?” Nick asked evenly.

Judy’s expression went from that small smile, to a big, sunny smile, then to a wry, calculated smirk.

“Alright, I’ll allow that,” Judy said. “You, Officer Wilde, may call me cute.” Her smirk changed back to a bright grin again, for a moment, before falling into a mostly-composed neutral expression.

Nick burst out laughing – the first time he had for Judy. For a few seconds he laughed loud enough to draw the attention of a few nearby pedestrians, to which Judy was quite nonplussed.

“What’s so funny?” she asked in an undertone.

“What a _relief!_ Thank you, Carrots,” Nick laughed, before dropping his volume down to match Judy’s tone. “The way you warm your ears is _so. Cute._ ”

Once again, she couldn’t supress a smile. Her ears flushed with a warmth that had nothing to do with the sun. Judy spun around and fell back a couple steps to walk side-by-side next to Nick.

“Sly fox,” she muttered, making sure she was just loud enough for Nick to hear.

Nick’s ear twitched and inevitably, along came another smirk… but warmer this time. “You know you love me,” he repeated.

Judy just shook her head. “Already tried that one. Come on, here we are.”

Shelly’s was a slightly rustic looking bistro and bar, flanked on one side by a barber and the other by a pizzeria. An elaborate carved wooden sign declared the name of the place, along with what seemed to be a stylized tortoise shell.

“What’s that symbol mean?” Judy pointed it out to Nick.

“Long and storied history,” Nick said mysteriously, before stepping up to open the door, and the pair stepped inside.

Overall, it was warmly lit, cosy, and moderately noisy. Perhaps twenty-odd mammals, mostly prey species, were lunching, talking, some drinking or playing an old pool table. A few curious mammals noticed the entrance of the conspicuous cop duo, but none seemed to comment on it.

Judy moved her badge from her shirt to her pocket, hoping to indicate she was off duty, or, as much ‘off-duty’ an active cop in uniform could be. She’d secured an hour’s break for lunch, but they were still officers, after all.

Nick had no such qualms about displaying his badge casually; in fact, he almost seemed to enjoy the attention the gold-plated adornment brought. This subtle enthusiasm was not lost on Judy. _He likes telling the world a fox can be a cop, and why wouldn’t he?_ She thought.

“This way, Hopps,” Nick said, leading Judy to the bar. A small, pissed-off looking fennec fox was standing on the bar, concentrating on filling a glass almost at tall as himself from a tap that was about snout-level for him. His nose twitched as Nick and Judy approached, and he looked around and spotted the pair. He raised an eyebrow at Nick, and at that point Judy recognized the fennec.

“Finnick!” she exclaimed.

“Hey buddy,” Nick said coolly, stepping up to the bar and whisking his shades off. “How’s it hanging?”

“Terrible.” Finnick’s deep voice surprised Judy again. He turned his attention back to the beer glass. Despite what he’d said, a tiny smile turned the corner of his muzzle. “Hey, you two.”

“Since when are you a bartender?” Judy asked, looking excited for the little fox.

Finnick jerked his head at Nick angrily. “Pretty much since this dumb fox here decided to join the academy. Couldn’t keep a con going without him, _you prick_.” This last part was directed at Nick. Judy had to hide a smile.

“And look how you’ve turned out, buddy,” Nick said cheerfully. “Productive member of society, bet you even pay taxes! Like me!”

Finnick smirked. “Tips are tax free,” he muttered.

“Speaking of which,” Nick said in a conspiratorial tone, “The ZPD’s finest could have a good one for you, if you can get us a table.”

Finnick nodded, huge ears wobbling just a moment behind. “You just want a table, or the best service we can offer as well?” He said. Judy suspected he was joking.

“Oh, the whole works.” Nick said totally seriously.

Finnick set the beer aside on the counter, and called over a nearby waitress. “Mayla! Can you get a table for my friends here?”

A black pantheress in a black outfit walked over. “Sure, Fin,” she said, glancing down at the rabbit and the fox.

“This to table six, too,” Finnick said, picking up the beer and handing it with both hands to the feline.

She took it and nodded to the cop pair. “Follow me, you two,” she said, smiling and turning to weave through the tables and patrons. She was one of the tallest people in the building, so following was easy for the fox and bunny. The dark-furred feline delivered the beer to a table of four sheep eating some sort of salad, before routing Judy and Nick to a cosy window-side table. Menus, cutlery, water and glasses were already at the table, all of which were just the right size for the two smaller cops.

Nick raised his eyebrows. “I should come here more often, if Fin really is keeping a table open for us.”

Judy shrugged. “Could just be coincidence, us getting a right-size table at this time.” It was sometimes difficult for smaller mammals, Judy especially, to get an appropriately sized table, and she often had to make do with standing up on chairs at larger tables.

Nick glanced over his shoulder at Finnick, who was still at the bar, now apparently having words with the chef. “… Sure, Hopps.”

Nick and Judy seated themselves. “Any drinks to get started?” she asked.

“Can I have a short black please, Mayla?” Nick asked.

“And a flat white with pumpkin spice!” Judy added cheerfully.

The pantheress smiled and nodded. “Coming right up.” She left for the bar to make the coffees herself.

Judy read through the menu, looking cheerful. Nick watched her out of the corner of an eye while he half-read the menu, already knowing what he’d have.

“So have you been here before? Finnick didn’t seem too surprised to see you.” Judy asked.

Nick shrugged. “A little. Would you believe Fin didn’t even tell me when he started working here? I found him here by chance, just trying out new places while I was in the academy.”

Judy laughed. “From what I know of him, sounds like something he’d do.”

Nick rubbed his muzzle thoughtfully. “I guess. I think he might’ve thought he didn’t want to see me after I turned colours, so to speak. Course, when I did finally show up, I managed to get myself back on his good side.” He smirked at Judy, who returned it almost like a mirror.

“Well, if we recount,” Judy said, “It only took you about three days to go from me hating your guts to asking you to be my partner. That’s an impressive track record.”

Nick chuckled, his earlier smirk again, as was becoming worryingly common, giving way to an honest smile. “Thanks, Hopps. I try.”

Their waitress returned with their coffees. “Ready to order?” she asked.

Nick nodded. “Can I have the eggs benedict, and a slice of the apple and blueberry pie?”

“And can I have the Savannah salad, and a piece of the same pie?” Judy asked.

Mayla nodded, scribbling down their orders on a notepad. “Excellent.” She looked around at the bistro for a moment, seeming to be doing some quick calculations. “Should be ten, fifteen minutes, tops.” She turned tail and headed off to give the orders to the chef.

“I feel like we’re VIPs, or something,” Judy said quietly to Nick. Nick raised his eyebrows and took a swig of coffee. “We are pretty special,” he said offhandedly.

“Yeah, we are,” Judy said.

A comfortable silence fell as the pair just enjoyed their coffee. Nick’s bright green eyes kept scanning restlessly around the bistro, a habit he had a hard time of cracking. Judy let her ears rest downwards, listening to the sounds of the eatery and watching mammals pass out the window. Nick liked the way that even after all this time in the big city, Judy’s violet eyes seemed to eagerly drink up every detail.

“You really do love this place, don’t you,” Nick commented.

Judy perked up, as though her attention had been elsewhere, and looked around at the bistro interior, before giving Nick a small smile. “I dunno, it’s alright,” she said slowly, not wanting to offend Nick’s choice of eatery without trying the food first.

Nick chuckled. “Not Shelly’s, silly bunny. Zootopia.”

“Oh?” Judy tilted her head, ears rising to a quizzical expression. “What makes you say that?”

Nick gestured at the window Judy had been staring through. “Whenever you get the chance, you go all googly-eyed out the nearest window. Like you can’t believe how cool this place is.”

Judy felt herself blush, glad her fur would hide it. She looked out the window again, expression thoughtful, face resting in a paw.

“I guess,” she started slowly. “I mean… You know, I grew up in Bunnyborrow, surrounded by rabbits, with the occasional sheep, or pig, and so on.” She took a sip of coffee. “There was only the one fox family in the whole town, and not many other predator species around. Not exactly prime tourist country, either. Even though I’ve been here six months or so, seeing all these different species, and the hundred little ways the city is designed to accommodate them… it _is_ cool. So you’re right, sometimes I _can’t_ believe how cool this place is… Or how lucky I am,” she finished.

“Huh,” Nick said. “Take it from me, Carrots. Give it twenty years and you’ll end up just as jaded as I am.”

Judy grinned devilishly. “Nicholas Wilde, I will pull the optimist out of you, kicking and screaming if I have to.”

“There’s the spirit,” Nick said. He drank some more coffee, thoughtful. Judy _did_ tend to improve his mood and make him more optimistic. In fact, Nick reckoned he was more content today, their first day as work partners, than he had been in a long, long time.

 _I should probably tell her that,_ he thought.

“I was also wondering,” Judy said, “What the deal was with that symbol on the sign outside. Looked kind of like a lopsided soccer ball.”

“Ah, the tortoise-shell,” Nick said. “Ever heard of tortoises?”

Judy shook her head slowly. “Nope…”

“They’re a kind of animal that has skin like leather and grows a hard shell. Endangered now, I think.”

Judy looked puzzled. “Like a snail?”

“… Sure, but way bigger, and with legs and a head and all. This place got called Shelly’s because, according to local legend, it used to sell turtle meat way back in the early days of Zootopia.”

Judy smirked. “You’re making this all up.”

Nick grinned. “That’s the story I heard, conman’s honour. Supposedly they used to sell tortoise meat, but then the place got shut down for a couple decades when tortoises were estimated to be going extinct.”

Judy still looked sceptical. “That’s a cool story, but it’s probably just legend.”

“We could ask,” Nick said as he spied their waitress coming back with their meals.

“Nick, no!” Judy hissed.

“Here we are, the Savannah salad, eggs benedict, and two slices of apple and blueberry,” Mayla said, handing the meals around.

“Thank you!” Nick said brightly. “Say, Mayla, do you know why this place is called Shelly’s?”

The feline looked thoughtful for a moment. “Used to be a snail eatery, I think. Changed hands a while ago,” she shrugged. “Fin might know, maybe check with him.” She headed back to the bar to help Finnick with more drinks.

“Is that so,” Judy said with a pointed glare at Nick. He ignored her comment and tucked into his poached eggs, cutting them up so the yolk seeped into the muffin and tofu bacon. Judy started on her salad, but stopped after a few bites, fanning her face and ears.

“That’s really hot!” she exclaimed, before taking a big gulp of water, nose twitching at the spiciness.

“Aw, can the country bunny not handle spicy?” Nick teased, waving his fork. “What did you expect when you got a _savannah_ salad?”

 “Alright, tough guy, _you_ take a bite of this,” Judy challenged. Nick leaned over and pierced a few vegetables and leaves with a good helping of the spicy sauce and ate it. “Easy,” he said nonchalantly. Judy just stared at him. Nick held her gaze confidently, until his eyes started watering and his nose started twitching. “Okay, fine, shut up,” he said, reaching for his own water.

Judy giggled. “I think I can handle a bit of this, but hopefully you won’t think less of me for moving onto dessert early.”

“Hey, it _is_ the best part of the meal after all,” Nick said, before returning his attention to his own lunch.

Judy managed several more forkfuls of the intense salad, interspaced by gulps of coffee or water, before eventually sliding it away from her and moving in on the pie.

“Oh, that is _awesome,_ ” she said, after savouring and swallowing a slice with a dreamy look.

“Told you,” Nick said with a smug look. “You should try these eggs, they’re excellent.”

Judy stood up on her chair and leaned right over the table, her ear-tips getting dangerously close to Nick as she carefully maneuvered a bite of the golden eggs onto her fork. She sat back down and tried them thoughtfully, before her brow furrowed a bit. She swallowed.

“Eh, don’t like the texture,” she said. Nick shook his head in mock disbelief.

“Will I ever fully understand this bunny? No, no I won’t.” Nick said, imitating Judy’s earlier reaction.

“I’d like to see you try, Wilde,” Judy said.

Feeling bold, Nick leaned over the table a bit, showing a bit of teeth in his crafty smile. “I plan to,” he said, before returning to a normal expression just as quickly, devouring the last of his eggs before moving onto the pie.

 _There’s that smile_ , Judy thought. _That happy fox smile._ Judy found she liked his smile, scary teeth and all. _A happy fox in police blues, living proof anyone can be anything._

“I’m so proud of you, Nick,” Judy found herself saying. _Oh, crackers_ , _I thought I wasn’t going to say that out loud._ She prepared herself for a harsh ribbing from the sarcastic fox.

Instead, it never came. Just a quiet, “Thanks, Carrots,” from Nick while he made his way through the pie. _Miracles may never cease,_ Judy thought.

When they had finished their meals Judy checked the time on her phone. “We should get back to the cruiser.”

Nick checked his phone and raised an eyebrow. “We’ve still got fifteen minutes till the hour, Fluff.”

Judy bounced in her seat a little, suddenly looking around, as if she was eager to get going. “I know, I’m just keen to get moving.”

“Energizer bunny,” Nick muttered, getting up. “Alright, let’s go, bossy bunny. Don’t forget to leave a tip for Finnick. You big-eared sorts gotta support each other.”

Judy looked a little sheepish but followed Nick’s lead, stopping by the bar on their way out to say by to Finnick.

“Thanks again, buddy,” Nick said, getting a ten dollar note out of his wallet. Judy did the same.

“Yeah, yeah,” Finnick grumbled, pocketing their money. “See you two later. Keep that nose clean, Nick. Bye, Judy.”

Nick nodded gravely, as if taking a piece of sage advice. “Bye Finnick,” Judy said brightly. They turned to leave.

“You go on ahead, Fluff,” Nick said. “I’ll catch up, I got the cheque.”

Judy shook her head. “Oh, no, no you don’t. I can –“

“It would insult my sense of chivalry, Carrots!” Nick said in mock disgust. “But really though,” he added in a more serious tone, “I want to. I got this.”

“Sweet fox,” Judy beamed. “Don’t be long.” She headed out the door, ears perking up at the sun again and heading down the street. Nick watched her go with a sigh. _Sweet bunny._ Nick paid their bill, which he suspected Finnick talked down somewhat, before following after Judy, automatically putting his shades on against the sun.


	4. Try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy invites Nick to a concert, and tries a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much purely romance. If that doesn't float your boat, skip to Chapter end for the note and move on to the next chapter.

**Precinct 1, one week later.**

A nervous Judy Hopps was reviewing legal documents on her computer screen when a pair of taps at her cubicle wall pricked her ear. She turned to see Nick Wilde there, lounging sideways on the wall, hands in pockets.

“Can you believe it?” Nick started. “I’m about to leave for a drink with Finnick on this fine Friday evening when Clawhauser yells me over, and tells me an officer needs to see me.”

Judy smirked and stood up. “I hope this will be worth your time, sir,” she said in a playacting tone. “I think your drinks with Finnick can wait.”

Nick raised an eyebrow, but then got up off the wall, standing a bit straighter, as if sensing a ruse. He gave Judy a speculative look with his next smirk.

“What is this, Hopps? Are we acting a thing here?” he said. “You sound a bit self-referential.”

Judy smiled. “That was more or less what I said, when I roped you into that case.”

Nick nodded. “I remember.”

“Back when I was a naïve little bunny,” Judy said.

“So full of hopes and dreams only six months ago. No, wait, hang on,” Nick shook his head in mock confusion. “That didn’t change.”

Judy chuckled. “Funny you should mention that… I feel like I’ve known you for this past six months, even though we barely saw each other most of it.”

It was true. While Nick had been in the academy, he had had to train just as hard as Judy to get by, which meant very little free time. Judy knew all too well how hard training was, and empathized with Nick the few times they were able to catch up. Nick understood it too. He’d enjoyed the scant times he was able to see the rabbit, a symbol that what he was trying was not impossible.

“Yeah, I know what you mean, Fluff,” Nick said easily.

Judy reached into her pocket and pulled out the two things that had been on her mind all day.

 _I feel like a naïve little bunny right now,_ Judy thought, ears and cheeks just barely starting to blush.

“Do you like Gazelle, Nick?” she said with a grin, waving a pair of tickets.

-

**Two weeks later. Friday, 10:12PM; after the concert.**

 

Mammals of all shapes and sizes filtered out of the stadium gate noisily. Nick and Judy carefully made their way through the crowd, side by side. Nick yawned widely, walking with hands in pockets, while Judy was still hopping and packed with excitement.

“That was so _cooool!_ ” she squeaked.

Nick just shrugged, feigning disinterest. “S’alright.”

“Come on, Nick, I saw you dancing at the end there to _Try Everything_ with me,” Judy pointed out knowingly.

Nick smiled. “I guess I did. Though, I would’ve danced to any tune for you, Carrots.”

Judy gave Nick a playful shove from the side. “ _Nick._ ”

“ _Any_ tune,” he repeated with a wink.

Judy shook her head in mock disbelief. “Well, I think it was a fitting song to end on,” she said, then switched into a sing-song cadence. “ _Try everything…_ ”

Nick watched her hop around the carpark and sing, deeply amused at seeing his usually somewhat shy partner in such a mood. _She’s just too cute tonight,_ Nick thought. _And pretty._

Thoughts like these had not been too far from Nick’s mind, for the past month. He and Judy had remained partners, naturally, as the only two small officers in the force, but there was more than that. They were a natural fit, in many ways. Their mismatched species, upbringings, and talents made them what Chief Bogo had once referred to as ‘an unexpectedly useful pair,’ which was high praise from the usually indifferent bull. They were both dedicated, driven officers, though they showed it in very different ways.

But more than that, Nick had found himself developing other feelings for the rabbit. Hardly a day went by that he didn’t get struck by the thought of how interesting, or upbeat, or cheerful, or _some other adjective_ Judy was. About half the time, he’d take what he was thinking, layer it with a helpful dose of sarcasm and say it as a joke. That way, whatever comment he settled on could be deflected, if it needed to be. Judy rarely did. In fact, Nick thought she liked his half-hidden compliments. She certainly seemed to return enough of them.

Thus they had circled each other, almost warily, for the past month. Their daily playful teasing changed subtly, hiding hints of sincerity under a veneer of snark. It was more like pointing out the things they liked about one another than their flaws. For instance, Nick would often poke fun at Judy’s go-getter attitude, which she’d usually return with some comment about the fox’s more ‘relaxed’ style, or as Judy once put it, ‘lazy fox cruise control.’

Nick smiled, remembering how they’d laughed when she thought that one up. She’d said it dryly after he had been annoying her about something in the cruiser – not seriously annoying, of course. _She’s become a lot better at banter,_ he thought.

 _Actually,_ he realised, _we’re becoming more like each other._ There was little doubt some of Judy’s optimism was rubbing off on Nick, as well. Suffice to say that his smirks were a little warmer, he displayed his badge more proudly, and found he actually enjoyed his career. _A lot like Carrots herself._

“Nick,” she said, drawing Nick out of his reverie. He focused on the rabbit, who was back beside him, on his left.

“Sorry, Carrots, lost in thought for a second,” he said.

“I could tell. You get this goofy look on your face.”

Nick frowned. “I do _not._ I look _thoughtful¸_ Carrots, like a wise fox.”

She shrugged. “If you say so, Nick.”

Pause.

“So… what are your plans for the night?” she said.

Nick smirked at her, getting ready for a joke. “It’s a lil’ late for a non-nocturnal country bunny, isn’t it, Carrots?” he grinned, elbowing her side.

Judy growled and shoved back at Nick again, somewhat softly. “I’m no bunny, Nick,” she laughed. “This rabbit can take care of herself.”

“Well, okay,” Nick smirked with a fake eye-roll. “Nothing, anyway. I was just gonna go back to my apartment and turn in for the night.”

“You know what I think we should do?” Judy said brightly.

“What?” Nick said carefully, sensing a hustle.

“I think we should take the sky car to the rainforest district,” she said, with a shy little smile at Nick. “It’ll be fun.”

Nick nearly stumbled and missed a step, but played it off smoothly. _Probably due to my heart skipping a beat,_ he mused dryly. _Thought that was just an expression._

“Sure thing, Judy,” he said.

Her left ear, closer to Nick, twitched. “You never call me Judy,” she said.

Nick shrugged easily, the very picture of ease despite his mind racing. “You’ve earned it,” he decided to say. _Man, that sounded lame,_ he thought. _‘You’ve earned it’? You can do better than that, Nick._ Judy seemed happy with the comment, though. After a few minutes of walking they came to the far corner of the carpark where the sky car terminal met the city.

Nick stepped up first and opened the door of one of the docked car. “After you, Officer Hopps,” he said with a bow.

Judy smiled and stepped in, leaning on the rail and looking out over the city. Nick stepped in after her. He noticed the way her ears twitched almost imperceptibly at certain sounds, even when they were resting downwards.

“You know, my apartment is in the rainforest district,” he said conversationally.

“So?” Judy said. Something in her tone made Nick think she already knew that.

“Convenient for me, I guess.”

Judy giggled and stepped over to Nick’s corner. “It’s a nice view too, though,” she said, paws on the rail, peering all around at the surrounding city beneath them. She noticed the motorways were surprisingly busy for this late at night, probably because of the concert.

“Yeah, sure beats the subway,” Nick said.

Judy nodded. “Little cold, though,” she shivered.

Nick blinked. _Is Carrots really saying this?_

“And you have such a warm-looking tail,” she added after a second.

 _Okay, she made that pretty clear. Thanks, Carrots,_ Nick thought. “Okay, fine,” he laughed, “Get in here.” He put an arm around Judy’s shoulder and swished his tail over, which Judy grabbed and snuggled happily.

“So soft,” she said.

“If anyone knows about soft, it would be you, cottontail,” Nick said. “I mean, wow. Look at those ears.”

“Really? Do you think they’re softer than this?” she said, stroking Nick’s tail. “Only one way to find out,” she added, looking expectantly at Nick.

Nick smiled, and slowly brushed up Judy’s ears with the paw that had been resting on her shoulder, making Judy grin and lift her ears up of her own accord.

Nick’s expression was practically entranced. “Yes. They are _way_ softer than _anything_ ,” he said, as he brushed his paw up to her black ear-tips.

“Mmm,” Judy hummed, snuggling up under Nick’s arm. “Charming fox,” she murmured up at him.

Nick kept patting her ears. “Beautiful bunny,” he echoed.

They held that shape for a minute as the air changed; they were leaving City Central and beginning to enter the Rainforest District. Most of the canopy was still far below them but the change in the air was immediate. It became more hydrated, and cooler; more alive and energetic than the humid, temperate air of the city itself.

“Nick,” Judy said quietly.

“Yeah, fluff?” Nick said, voice deep and quiet.

She smiled up at him. “I can tell you’re dying to say it.”

Nick grinned, giving Judy a full view of his sharp vulpine teeth. Judy felt a thrill shoot through her at the sight – but it wasn’t fear, not for Nick. She was well past that.

“You know you love me,” Nick said, slouching a bit down to Judy’s eye level, looking her in the eye with a confident grin.

“Yes,” Judy murmured, knowing that was what she felt for him, all of him, even the parts that used to scare her. She titled her face up to Nick, meeting his eyes with a confident, lively look of her own. “Yes, I do.”

Their lips met; a vulpine muzzle with a leporine snout. Despite their physical differences, it felt to Judy like the most natural thing in the world. She sighed happily into the kiss and wrapped an arm around the fox’s neck, his tail now mostly forgotten. All Nick could think about was how soft she was, and small, and brave, and how he had wanted this for a _month_.

After a long moment, they released the kiss but stayed held close.

“You’ve got to say it too, Nick,” she said, looking up at his green eyes.

“Say what?” Nick asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Judy gasped and mockingly beat a fist on his chest, just hard enough for a soft _thump_. “Nick!”

Nick laughed, raising his paws to fend off the rabbit. “Just kidding, Carrots!” he said. “I love you, Judy. I do.”

“That’s better,” she said, grabbing his tail again for warmth and snuggling up, which tickled her ears under his muzzle. Nick smiled and moved them to either side of his face, then stroked them gently.

The pair stayed close the rest of the ride. They descended into the canopy, which luckily was not undergoing its usual artificial rain, though it was still very humid and cool.

It startled them both when the rail car clicked to a halt at the terminal. Judy and Nick looked around, suddenly reminded of what had happened last time they were here.

Nick gave Judy’s ears a quick kiss before opening the door and stepping out, before turning to offer his paw to Judy. She took it and stepped down, looking around the platform with a smile.

“Such a gentleman,” she said to Nick.

He smiled. “Oh, how dare you.”

“Of course, a real gentleman, seeing a lady with no way to get home, might offer her a place to stay.”

Nick grinned impishly, sending a little thrill down Judy’s spine. “A rabbit asking to visit a fox’s den, huh? Who would’ve thought?”

Judy laughed. “I’m not scared. I love this fox.” She nuzzled her face on his soft tail.

“Maybe I should be scared of this rabbit,” Nick gently teased.

Judy tickled the underside of Nick’s muzzle. “You’ve got nothing to fear,” she said sweetly. “Now… are we going to your den?”

Nick nodded. “This way,” he said, leading down Tujunga lane. His night vision made him the natural choice for a guide, so he stayed slightly in front of Judy, who kept her grip on his tail and followed. He felt oddly protective of her, here in the dark, wet rainforest.

They navigated a few streets and turns like this, Nick making a few jokes at Judy’s vision along the way. She tried to come up with a few snide comebacks but couldn’t think of any way the fox didn’t have the advantage in this situation. She accepted that for once, yes, she was the dumb, half-blind bunny following a fox around. Right now though, she didn’t mind so much.

The lighting improved when they reached Nick’s apartment building. Like most of the rainforest buildings, it had a wood exterior, partially covered in vines and foliage. Despite this, the building looked very sturdy and solid, and didn’t seem to have any leaks.

“Want me to carry you, Carrots? Mine’s on the top floor, and its stairs only,” Nick said.

Judy blushed. “Thanks, Nick,” she said. Nick smiled down at her before gently picking her up, holding her in both arms. Nick made his way carefully up the staircase, which would’ve seemed nearly pitch black to Judy. There were lights in the building, but it was frowned upon to use them outside of normal daylight hours, so as not to disturb either nocturnal or non-nocturnal tenants.

Thus Nick carried Judy into his room, before closing the door and turning a light on. Judy hadn’t been sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this.

The apartment was modern, smooth, and nicely furbished. The main room contained a kitchen at a back corner, a fox-sized table, a flat TV, and a large russet red couch. The walls were mostly bare, save for a bookcase. Nonetheless, it seemed lived-in and comfortable to Judy. There were closed doors to the left and right. Nick chucked his keys on his table and made for the couch.

“Nice place, Nick,” Judy said, walking up to the couch and leaning on it, looking around.

“Thanks, Carrots,” Nick said, slumping onto the couch. “And what do you know, I just remembered my neighbours are gone tonight.”

“Really?”

“Yep, staying in Central for the concert, I’m pretty sure.”

“Huh. And why do you mention that, Nick?” Judy teased, climbing up and joining Nick on the red couch. It was almost the same colour of his fur, and, Judy noticed, smelt a bit like him too.

Nick shrugged. “Just a general talking point, I suppose,” he said slyly.

Judy snuggled up next to Nick on the sofa, kissing him again. Some tiny part of her brain _was_ secretly thrilled at being in the fox’s den, so to speak; secretly thrilled at cuddling up to her own natural predator. Similarly, Nick was well aware of his own animalistic side reacting to his natural prey.

“Carrots…” he murmured around their kiss.

“Hmm?” she hummed.

Nick pulled back and gave her an almost-shy smile. “… Can I carry you again?” he nearly whispered.

“Mmhmm,” Judy hummed, climbing into Nick’s arms again. Nick smiled and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up. He carried her to the left door, opened it, and carried her into the bedroom.

“You’re so _light._ I love carrying you,” Nick murmured as he let her gently down on his bed. Judy noticed the bed smelled more like Nick – something she was _definitely_ into, she decided.

Judy giggled, wrapping Nick’s tie around a paw and pulling him down to her. “Big, strong fox,” she said, as Nick leaned down for another kiss. The rabbit met it eagerly, wrapping her arms around him. When Nick broke the kiss, Judy was undoing his shirt.

“Judy,” Nick breathed, giving her pause. “Are you… sure you want to?”

“Yes,” she practically panted, giving him a heated look. “Yes, Nick, please…” Slowly, she returned her hands to his tie, this time, to undo it.

Nick suddenly nuzzled into her neck, rubbing his nose and face on the surprised rabbit. “You smell so good,” he murmured. The rabbit gasped as he rubbed his fur on her, marking her, scenting her.

“Nick…” she almost moaned.

“Hmm?” Nick pushed himself up again.

Judy’s ears burned, flushed with warmth and embarrassment for what she was planning to say. She could smell Nick on her now, hear every tiny noise he made, every hard breath they took.

“I really like… that sort of stuff,” she managed.

“When I nuzzle you?” Nick clarified, voice low and entrancing.

“Yeah, and… and, you know…” she trailed off, clearly embarrassed. She met Nick’s big green eyes, which after a moment flashed with understanding.

 _Oh, Carrots!_ Nick realised, _I think I know what you mean._ “And…” Nick said, leaning further over Judy, focusing on her ears. “Stuff… like… this?” he asked, before gently closing his sharp teeth around an ear-tip. Judy reacted with a happy gasp and a squirm.

“Yes…” she said contentedly, closing her eyes at the fox’s nibbling, sighing and stretching out under him. She was happy to just let that happen for as long as he wanted.

Nick nibbled down her ear, pleased with the rabbit’s amorous reaction, before stopping and lifting himself above her again. “Judy,” he said.

“Mmm…” she hummed, eyes fluttering open at him. “Yes, Nick?”

It was his turn to look nervous. “I think I like it, too… Can I… can I use my teeth on you? I’ll be gentle, way gentler than that time with the -”

Judy shushed him with a furred finger on his lips. “Yes, Nick,” she whispered, guiding one of his hands to her shirt. She gave him a smouldering look that melted away any nervousness. “I like you _wild._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a bit of playing round with ideas to decide on where the story was heading next. I decided the plot I have in mind would work best, and be most effective, if Nick and Judy were romantically together for the continuation of the story.
> 
> Of course, it was fun to write them getting closer anyway.
> 
> The next chapter is where the plot will start to properly pick up.


	5. Lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick decide what to do with their weekend.

Judy Hopps hovered on the edge of consciousness, feeling warm, cosy, and contented. As wakefulness made its way to her hazy brain, she realised three things. First, she was in a bed that was much too comfortable and big to be her own. Second, she was naked, lying on her side. Third, she was not alone.

She grinned to herself as she came more awake, looking around the room. An electric clock read 11:02. A pair of thick curtains was closed against a window, but Judy could see sunlight emanating around the edges, sending just enough light to the room to see in.

Judy rolled over to her other side, careful not to trap the soft tail which was draped across her hip under the sheet. Nick Wilde was still asleep, breathing slowly, face totally neutral and calm. It was slightly odd to Judy to see him looking so relaxed, in fact. Like a stage actor, Nick was always (or so he liked to think) in control of his face, which usually rested somewhere between sarcasm and nonchalance. ‘Don’t let them see that they get to you’, of course, had been his motto for a long time, and that was one of the results. Nick Wilde made his face a shield to the world, and seeing that shield down was… kinda amazing, Judy decided.

As she watched his face, Nick’s ears and nose twitched, and one corner of his muzzle lifted in a tiny growl, exposing some sharp teeth. _Must be dreaming,_ Judy thought. She lay her head back down on her pillow and watched Nick’s face, trying to figure out what he might be dreaming about. He bared his teeth the same way a couple more times, as well as more nose twitches. Judy noticed the tip of Nick’s tail intermittently twitching as well. _Is he… hunting?_ Judy wondered.

Suddenly Nick sniffed deeply, ears going back and brow furrowing. His muzzle slowly formed a wide, almost vicious looking grin, eyes still closed but moving rapidly. _Can he smell me? Am I in his dream?_ Judy thought. She was pretty sure she already had her answer.

Nick closed his muzzle and sniffed at the air again, and this time, his eyelids fluttered. After a moment his eyes slowly opened, and he saw Judy, staring back with her bright purple eyes. He smiled serenely at her, and rubbed his tail up her body, making her twitch and bite back ticklish giggles.

“Hey, Carrots,” he mumbled sleepily, happily. Judy was secretly happy he was still calling her by those silly nicknames – all throughout last night it had been Judy. Not that she didn’t love that too – but she liked the idea of Nick keeping her name… _I dunno, special? Private?_ Judy wondered. _I like that it’s a rare thing._

“Hey Nick,” she said sweetly. “Good morning.”

“Ugh, is it, still? I should’ve stayed in till afternoon,” Nick said, before yawning and stretching hugely, bringing his arms up and baring all his teeth. Judy watched him yawn, focusing on those teeth. Nick seemed to notice the attention partway through his yawn, so when he was done he snapped them shut with a little force, grinning almost wolfishly at Judy. She felt herself blush, her ears getting a bit warm. _Oh Nick, why do you have such an effect on me…?_

“See something you like, Carrots?” Nick teased, noticing her reaction. He leaned a bit up on his elbows, showing some of his red-furred chest.

“Oh, crackers, yes,” she said, running her eyes all over the fox before meeting his again. “I love your teeth, and your claws, and… _all_ of you,” she said, grabbing his tail under the sheets at the same time.

Nick laughed. “Oh, _Carrots!_ Who would’ve thought a sweet little bunny like you…” he reached for Judy in an exaggerated pose, claws outstretched, with a mocking grin. “Would be into _big, bad predators_ like me!” Nick lunged at her, grabbing her and pulling her close. She laughed and squirmed, not really trying to break his grip. Nick hugged her close and rubbed the side of his face into her neck again, and she sighed happily, relaxing into the larger fox.

“It’s only you, you know,” she clarified. “No one else’s claws or teeth or, predatory features, I guess, turn me on…” she said a little embarrassedly. “Just you.”

“Well, Carrots,” he said slowly, paws moving to her ears, “There’s plenty about you that… presses my buttons as well.” He stroked her ears again, rubbing the back of them with his pawpads and the front with his fingers. “Who would’ve thought I’d end up a prey-chaser.”

“A what?” Judy asked.

Nick shrugged. “Some predators think, uh… ending up in romantic relationships with prey is, uh… weird, or wrong, or weak,” he explained. “That we should be exclusive to our own kind.”

“Screw them, Nick,” Judy said, tilting her head up to give him a kiss on the nose. “Take some advice from the ZPD’s first rabbit: do what makes you happy.”

“Funny you should say that, Fluff…” Nick said. “ _You_ make me happy.” He bit down gently on one of Judy’s ears, pretending to gnaw and tear at it. Judy laughed and gasped; for her, it was like being tickled, teased and kissed all at the same time. Rabbit ears _are_ very sensitive, after all, in more than just the auditory department.

“You scoundrel!” Judy exclaimed, extricating her ear from Nick’s teeth and looking up at him. Nick flashed her a charming smile, green eyes glittering.

“But I’m _your_ scoundrel,” he said, giving Judy another kiss.

“Mmf,” Judy huffed, grabbing Nick by the shoulders. “C’mere.” She rolled onto her back, and Nick, getting the hint, got up off his elbows and propped himself up above her.

“It’s too hot for the covers, chuck them off,” she said. Nick obliged.

“Now…” Judy continued with a glance at the clock, before meeting Nick’s eyes again. “I believe you mentioned something about staying in till afternoon?”

Nick grinned down at her. “I am the luckiest fox ever,” he murmured, before kissing Judy again, a bit more ferociously, as she wrapped her arms and legs around him.

 

-

 

The clock read 3:23PM. Nick lay on his back, almost no energy left to move. Despite that, he looked very, very happy. Judy was tucked beside him, lying on her side and hugging him close.

“You crazy bunny,” he sighed. “Do you ever quit?”

Judy chuckled. “Having trouble keeping up with a rabbit, huh?”

“Nope,” Nick said almost reflexively. “I can keep up, just… whew. I’m tired.”

“We should have breakfast then. Though by this point, I guess its afternoon tea,” Judy said.

“Right there with you,” Nick said with a tired thumbs-up, before letting his arm drop lifelessly back to the bed.

Judy chuckled and got up, walking around the bed, and grabbed one of Nick’s paws, tugging on it.

“Come on, lazy fox, let’s get some food into you.”

Nick was noncompliant. “Five minutes,” he wailed. “Just give me five minutes to lie here and rest.”

“Okay.” Judy pecked him on the cheek. “Do you have coffee?”

Nick gave a tiny nod. “Coffee machine in the kitchen, everything’s in the closest cabinet.”

Judy nodded and headed for the kitchen. Nick watched her short, fluffy tail as she went. ”I am the luckiest fox ever,” he murmured to himself quietly.

“I heard that,” Judy called back from the doorway. She glanced over her shoulder, giving him a sunny smile, before disappearing round the corner. Nick just sighed happily, not caring that she heard him. A moment later he heard her operating the coffee machine in the kitchen.

“It’s an absolute beast to get working,” Nick called out over the noise. “You’ll be a miracle bunny if you can make anything on your first try.”

No response, just noises coming from the machine. After a moment, Nick thought he heard Judy mutter something uncouth.

“Don’t give up hope, Carrots,” Nick teased. “I’m sure ZPD’s finest can figure out a coffee maker.”

“Stupid piece of…Yes! Haha!” Nick heard Judy say from the kitchen. A few moments later he heard her walking back, and rolled over on his side, leaning on one elbow, covering himself somewhat with his tail. Judy stepped into the bedroom with a small ceramic cup in her hands, breaking out in a big smile when she saw Nick. Her eyes ran up and down his body, and Nick swore he noticed her ears acquire an extra shade of pink.

“Such a poser, Nick,” she teased, sitting on the edge of the bed and handing him the cup. Nick gave the coffee an experimental sniff, before taking a sip.

“A short black isn’t that hard,” Judy continued. “And, Nick…”

“Mmm?” Nick hummed around a mouthful of coffee.

“Why do you have pumpkin spice in your coffee cabinet?” she asked wryly.

Nick almost spluttered out his coffee, then swallowed. “Well… I figured I’d get some practice at making flat whites, just in case. But then, I thought, if I’m gonna learn to make more kinds of coffee, I might as well learn to make yours...”

“That is _so_ sweet,” Judy grinned.

Nick smirked and drank some more coffee. “I’ll make you one in a couple minutes. Just let me finish this.”

Judy played with Nick’s tail while she waited, gently running her soft fingers through the fur, combing out any knots and smoothing rough patches, not that there were many of either.

“Can’t keep your paws off me, Carrots,” Nick teased, after finishing his coffee. “Come on, I’ll show you how to make a flat white.” He got up, easily slipping his tail through Judy’s paws, and headed to the kitchen, Judy in tow.

“It’s all about getting the proportions right,” he said, grabbing a larger cup and preparing a couple shots of coffee. “You start with a shot or two, and I’m guessing two,” he continued with a sideways look at Judy.

“Sure,” she said, standing up on tiptoes to see up to the counter.

“And then…” he smiled, “You just add fluff.” Nick flicked a switch to steam the milk, which moved it from one small jug to another, making it froth and bubble along the way.

“Proportions and fluff,” Judy echoed sarcastically.

Nick ignored that comment and rummaged in the cabinet for the pumpkin spice, and shook out a little as he poured the milk into Judy’s cup, getting the spice layered through the milk.

“Ta-da!” he said with a flourish of his spare paw as he handed her the cup. She sipped it, tilting her head thoughtfully. Nick pretended to not notice this, of course, busying himself with preparing another short black. She kept him in suspense for a moment, before eventually breaking into an honest smile. “Mmm, excellent.”

 _Yes!_ _First try,_ Nick thought. “You’ll find I’m a fox of many talents,” he said easily, leaning on the counter. Judy eyed him up and down. “All sorts of talents,” she agreed. “Is fixing breakfast one of them?”

“Sure.” Being taller, Nick had an easy time of reaching cabinets Judy would’ve needed a step for. “What’re you feeling, cereal? Toast? Could fry up some eggs and bug-bacon if you want… Mmm… Think I’ll do that either way.”

“What the heck is bug-bacon?” Judy asked.

“What do you think, Carrots? Bacon, made out of bugs,” Nick smirked. “High in protein, and goes _awesome_ with scrambled eggs.”

“I thought you hated bugs,” Judy recalled.

Nick waved a paw. “Well, yes, I can’t stand _unprocessed_ bugs. Some predators eat them like popcorn, how gross is that? When they’re made into other things they can be really delicious, though.”

Judy thought about it. “Sure, why not? I’ll try it,” she shrugged.

“There’s the spirit,” Nick said as he rubbed Judy’s head with a roughish paw. A few weeks ago, Judy would’ve been ready to spit acid at the gesture, but now, she found she didn’t mind it. She held still for a few seconds, before brushing Nick’s paw away.

“Okay, that’s nice, but you _don’t_ get to pet me like a little kitten in public,” she said with a fiery look, as if daring Nick to challenge her on it.

“No problem,” Nick said easily. “Now, go on, little bunny, out of the kitchen, this fox needs space to cook,” He said as he playfully shooed her away. Judy mock scowled at him, which Nick just returned with an easy smirk.

Judy left her coffee at the table and headed back to Nick’s bedroom, grabbing her underwear and donning them, and returned with Nick’s clothes.

“You know, for a fluffy fox like you, cooking in the nude could be a fire hazard,” Judy teased. Nick rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, Carrots,” he said, swishing his tail around the kitchen to make his point. “You just can’t deal with how _dangerously_ attractive I am.”

“Nick Wilde,” she laughed, “If you don’t put these on I’m liable to pounce on you by the time you’ve finished cooking.”

“How could I turn that down?” Nick ribbed, but donned his clothes all the same.

Judy hopped onto the couch and checked her phone while Nick cooked. A couple work emails, which she ignored since it was the weekend. No calls or texts, for which she was relieved. Out of habit she checked a few news outlets; she usually liked to know if anything was happening in the city. She and Nick had almost the same schedule, due to how closely they worked together, which gave them until Monday off, though they could be called in if they were needed.

There were a couple articles about the Gazelle concert, which had filled every seat. Somewhat amazingly, there didn’t seem to be any incidents directly caused by the concert. Apparently a couple mammals had had break-ins last night while they were at the concert, but that was all.

“Done, Carrots,” Nick called from the kitchen over the sound of meat sizzling. Judy pocketed her phone and took a seat at the table as Nick brought over their very late breakfast. Judy found the bug-bacon actually to her liking, and started eagerly devouring it with the scrambled eggs.

“This is really good, Nick,” she said after a big mouthful.

“Thanks, fluff,” Nick said in between bites. “The trick to the eggs is they need lots of butter. Real butter, nothing else will do.”

Judy raised an eyebrow. “You use real butter? Doesn’t that make you feel kinda weird?”

Nick shrugged. “Not really. Some cows make it, they sell it, and they get paid. Seems fine to me.”

Judy nodded slowly. “I can understand that, I guess.”

They finished their meals fairly quickly, and Nick kicked his chair back, balancing it on the back legs, taking a sip of his coffee. “So, fluff, any plans for today? You can leave this old fox all alone in his den if you want, I won’t mind,” he said easily.

“Nonsense,” Judy said. “I’d rather spend the day with you.”

Judy’s phone rang, surprising both of them. Judy scooted her chair back and fished it out of her pocket, checking the screen. **Blocked Number.** She showed the screen to Nick, who shrugged.

“Your call, Officer Hopps,” he said. “Personally, I don’t give anyone who hides their number the time of day.”

Judy decided to answer – she was a law officer, after all. Could be important.

“Judy Hopps speaking,” she answered brightly.

“ _Judy Hopps_ ,” the speaker echoed. The voice was male, flat, almost bored sounding, though it had a familiar shape to it she couldn’t place.

“Uh, yes?” she said. “Who is this?”

“ _You’ve made a terrible decision, Hopps_.”

Judy’s brow furrowed. “Who is this?” she repeated, starting to feel a little on edge. _What is this guy talking about? Does someone know about me and Nick?_

The speaker seemed to wait for a moment. “ _Forty-eight hours. That’s how long your last case took._ ”

“What about it?” she said accusingly.

Pause. “ _In forty-eight hours, I’m going to rip your life apart.”_

Her face fell. _What the hell?_ She thought. Nick looked troubled at her change in expression.

“Listen, sir,” she said, fire creeping back into her voice. “It is a crime to threaten a police officer. You don’t scare me. If you think I’m going to be intimidated over a creepy phone call, you don’t know a thing about my life.”

Silence. The phone call ended abruptly, with no sound of a hang-up. Just a beep indicating the call had ended, and that was it.

“What’s up, Fluff?” Nick said, still at ease. That changed when he noticed Judy’s reaction; still staring at her phone, ears drooped, eyes blank.

“Judy,” Nick said gently. “That didn’t sound too good.”

Judy shook her head, her eyes turning back to meet Nick’s. She gave a small smile.

“Just some creepy loser, I think,” she said. “I guess it eventually comes with the territory, when you’re practically the unofficial face of the ZPD.”

Nick wasn’t convinced that was everything. “What’d he say?”

Judy dropped her gaze, looking at Nick’s shirt. _Is she… embarrassed about this?_ Nick thought.

“Hey, Hopps,” he said, reaching over to stroke her cheek. “You _don’t_ have to be embarrassed about what some creep says over the phone. You can tell me if you want, or not, I don’t mind.”

Her smile became a little more genuine, less concerned. “I know. He said… that I’d made a terrible mistake. Then he mentioned how my first big case took forty-eight hours, and… said he was going to rip my life apart, in the next forty-eight hours…” Despite trying to steel herself, her voice wavered. _Come on, Judy. Don’t let it get to you._

“Hmm,” Nick hummed, rubbing his muzzle.

“How did he get my number?” Judy wondered aloud, starting to feel uneasy again.

“There are ways,” Nick explained. “Not legal, but you can do it. It’d take someone who worked for your cell provider to get that number, though.”

“Really?” Judy said. “What… what else could they get?”

Nick too easily spotted the hidden tremble in her voice. “Judy,” he said, getting her attention fully. He reached out and took her paw in his across the table.

“Look at me. You are safe,” he said evenly. “You are an Officer of the ZPD, _and_ a kickass fighter, for someone your size. Look,” he continued, “In my opinion. It was almost inevitable something like this would happen eventually. First rabbit cop, then with the pred speech, then with cracking the Night-Howler case… you have a high profile.”

“I know,” Judy said. This wasn’t making her feel better.

“I mean… it happens. I’ve seen the same thing happen to other people - someone gets their number, starts messing with them, sometimes gets their address, things like that,” Nick continued. “Most of the time, ninety percent, even, nothing happens. They get help from the police, or change address, and that’s that.”

Judy nodded, before breaking into weak chuckles.

“Huh?” Nick said. “Something funny, Carrots?”

“It scared the hell out of me, Nick,” she admitted weakly. “Ugh, look at me. I am _not_ a frightened little bunny,” she said with a bit more resolve.

“That’s absolutely right,” Nick agreed. “So… what do you want to do? I could call him back for you, give him some choice words.”

Judy laughed, her unease washing away at Nick’s charm. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. The less we have to do with that creep the better.” Judy drank some more coffee, thinking.

“Nonetheless,” she said, “I think I’ll go in to the Precinct today and report it.”

Nick nodded. “Wise idea.”

“And, Nick…” Judy continued, “Do you… think I could stay here over the weekend? Just till that forty-eight hours is up and that creep is done ‘ripping lives apart’, which won’t happen anyway.”

Nick grinned lazily, finishing off his short black. “If it makes you feel safer to have a vicious fox at your side, sure,” he said.

Judy checked the time on her phone, it was nearly four o’clock. “Shall we head down, then?” she said brightly, getting up and walking to the bedroom for the rest of her clothes.

“Woah woah woah, slow down there, Carrots,” Nick called.

She turned back, ears tilted in curious-mode. “What?”

Nick tapped his nose. “You and I smell like a lot of things, Fluff,” he said with an indulgent grin, “really good things, but not the sort you want to let everyone know about.”

Judy blushed. _I had no idea._ “Okay… shower, then?”

Nick nodded. “Door opposite my bedroom.”

Judy entered, leaving the door open behind her. Nick got up and started cleaning away the plates, cutlery and cups. He was beginning to fill the sink with hot water when he heard Judy call, “Nick.”

He turned back. “Yeah, Fluff?”

Judy poked her head out of the bathroom door, ears raised. “You coming or what? We ought to conserve water,” she said with a wink.

“Oh,” Nick said, dishes immediately forgotten. He turned off the sink and headed for the shower. _Yep. Definitely the luckiest fox in the world._


	6. Report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick report the malicious call, and discuss some things.

Judy Hopps, for the first time, felt out of place walking into Precinct 1. The shining building was the same as always, as was the mild activity taking place in the lobby; mostly cops going to and fro, a couple citizens by the front desk, and Judy noticed one scraggly-looking badger lightly muzzled and being escorted into the back of the station.

It was all more or less the same. Not even on her first day did Judy feel out of place, just nervous. The reason was because she had never before set foot in the place out of uniform.

Judy glanced at Nick. If Nick had any misgivings, he was hiding them perfectly, hands in pockets like usual, looking contended and even a tiny bit bored. His green eyes flicked all around like usual, meeting hers for a few moments without much recognition. Like usual.

Judy couldn’t help but wonder how they seemed. A pair of cops walking in on their off day, neither in uniform. Known as friends to everyone. After a concert…

She ignored that train of thought. _There’s nothing to be seen,_ she decided. _We look and act the same as always. Especially Nick, that trouper._ Judy made her way to the Precinct’s main desk, where, for once, Clawhauser was not. Judy almost hopped in surprise.

Chief Bogo himself was taking reception today. He didn’t look happy about it. But then, he never looked happy about anything.

Despite his usual intense expression, he didn’t sound pissed-off at anything, which Judy counted as a blessing. “Officers Hopps and Wilde,” he said with a look up, which from him meant ‘good morning’.

“Morning, Chief,” Judy said.

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Why, Clawhauser, you’re looking awfully sombre today.”

“Shut it, Wilde,” the chief said, this time not looking up from his work. “You may be off the clock but I am still your superior.”

“Yes, sir,” Nick said amicably. “Just wondering, where is that big cat?”

Bogo sighed. “Taking leave,” he said simply.

 _Probably partied too hard last night,_ Judy guessed. “And… that put you on reception, sir?” Judy hazarded carefully.

The chief fixed her with his usual stoic glare. “Are you under the impression I dislike being here, Hopps?”

“Honestly, sir… yes.” Judy said slowly.

“You would be mistaken,” Bogo said simply. “Now. How can I help?” He glanced at Judy again over his glasses.

Judy took a breath, steeling her voice so she could be certain it wouldn’t shake. She didn’t feel scared, just embarrassed about bringing something so personal into her professional life. _It was a threat,_ she reminded herself. _Those do not go unseen to at the ZPD._

“I want to report a threatening of a police officer, sir,” she said. Her voice felt strong and even. _Good._

Bogo raised an eyebrow. “Was this directed at you, Officer Hopps?”

“Yes, sir,” she nodded.

“You were threatened in person?”

“No, sir. It was an anonymous phone call.”

Bogo scratched his chin. “Right,” he nodded. He lowered his glasses, put what he was reading down for a moment, and looked more closely at Judy, expression difficult to read as always.

“Is this the first one you’ve received?” he asked plainly.

“Yes, sir,” Judy replied.

“Are you aware that your high profile means that you will be likely to receive such threats, Officer Hopps?”

 _Where is he going with this…?_ Judy wondered. “Yes sir, I am,” she said, a little less strongly.

“Well then,” Bogo continued, “Do you think this threat was serious enough to warrant investigation?”

 _What? Of course it is!_ Judy thought furiously, suddenly indignant at Bogo’s dismissal of the issue. _I can’t believe this, it’s a crime, chief, EVERY crime should be-_

“Just so we’re clear, Hopps,” Bogo finished, beginning to go back to his paperwork, “I’m not brushing this off. I’m saying it’s your call.”

“Oh…” Judy said quietly. _Whoops_. Judy backpedalled on her earlier thinking about the chief. _He’s so hard to read_ , she mused. _I need to listen better, and learn to keep emotion out of it when it comes to the chief._

“Yes sir, I do,” Judy stated.

“Fair enough,” he said, grabbing a standard report sheet from under the desk. “There’s the report sheet. If you want to do something about the call, go see the tech department on level two. Tell them I sent you if they brush you off.”

“Thank you, sir!” Judy said brightly, somewhat relieved at the Chief’s straight-forwardness. She started to fill out the basics of the report quickly right there at reception – time of incident, type of incident, officers present, location…

 _Cheese and crackers,_ Judy thought. _This could be difficult_.

“Uh, I’ll get out of your fur, chief… I’ll finish this at my desk,” Judy said.

The chief seemed unfazed. “Your call. Good day, Hopps.”

“Thanks, Chief,” Nick said as he turned to follow Judy to her office. The two of them drew a bit of attention on the way, other officers doing double takes at seeing them in plain clothes. When they recognized the pair, their suspicion faded – some waved, nodded, or said small hellos, which the pair returned. Judy found it reassuring. Only after she reached her desk did she let her thoughts return to the report, ears falling.

“Nick, what am I going to do about this?” she sighed, practically falling into her chair.

Nick leaned against the wall, looking nonplussed at her reaction. “Chief was pretty clear, Officer Fluff. Fill out the report, get tech to see if they can help find the number, done.”

By way of answer, Judy held the report out to Nick. His eyes skimmed through the different sections, but his expression didn’t change from his usual smugness.

“So what? Time of incident, between three-thirty and four PM. Type of incident, malicious phonecall. Officers present, Hopps and Wilde, who were having coffee and a late lunch,” he listed off coolly.

Judy tapped the ‘location’ section with a finger, giving him a desperate look.

Nick shrugged nonchalantly. “At my place, 171 Sapling Lane.”

Judy just glared at him. “Seriously, Nick.” _I can’t write that on the report_ , was the silent addition to that statement.

Nick rolled his eyes, before getting up off the wall and stepping into the cubicle proper. He checked the coast was clear, then leaned down next to Judy and whispered in her ear, smugness evaporating into frank honesty.

“Judy, you are overreacting a little,” he whispered, then stood up straighter and returned to a normal, though still quiet volume, leaning an arm on her chair casually. “Come on, Hopps, I know you wish we were more than that but it was just coffee and lunch.”

Despite herself, Judy laughed. “In your dreams, Wilde,” she countered. _Nick’s right,_ Judy thought. _I mean, we tease each other like this all day, everyone knows that. I think we’re close enough to share the occasional meal at each other’s places. Nobody will suspect anything._

Judy started filling out the report, before getting to the much larger, generic ‘description’ section.

“How much detail do you think I should go into?” she asked Nick.

“Up to you, Hopps. I’d probably try for verbatim, if I’d heard it.”

Judy thought for a minute, before writing:

              _Phonecall received from blocked number. Male caller._

_Quotes:_

_“You’ve made a terrible mistake, Hopps”_

_“Forty-eight hours, that’s how long your last case took”_

_“In forty-eight hours I’m going to rip your life apart”_

Even writing the words down made Judy feel slightly uneasy. She recalled how… lifeless the threat-maker seemed, as if it was the most normal, day-to-day conversation. She finished off the rest of the report, capped her pen and handed the paper to Nick. “Can you check this?” she asked.

“Sure.” Nick took the report and skimmed it. His eyebrows raised at the description. “That’s verbatim?”

“Yeah. Threats like that tend to stand out in your memory.”

Nick shook his head. “Okay, now I’m pissed off on _your_ behalf. When you described the conversation, I didn’t realise he’d been so… direct.”

Judy smirked. “Only one fox is allowed to try and crush my dreams, apparently.”

“Huh?” Nick looked at Judy, genuinely confused at that statement.

She shrugged. “I was talking about the day we met. You said I’d never be a real cop, living under a bridge, et cetera, et cetera.” She made a rolling gesture with her paw.

“Oh. _That,_ ” Nick said, looking a bit crestfallen. “I never did apologize for that…” he said, almost to himself.

“Don’t need to,” Judy said, taking the form back to check it again. “If anything, you ate your words twice as hard, _Officer_ Wilde.”

“Good point,” Nick mused. _Still though, I might make a proper apology for that sometime._

“Right. Shall we take this up to tech and see what they can do?” Judy asked, getting up and making for the corridor.

“Sure. Let’s see if they can hold a candle to any of my old buddies.” Nick followed along.

“Oh, so you know some hackers, Nick? Shady individuals stealing money out of banks and bugging phones?”

Nick shook his head. “Nothing so impressive, Fluff. Just wait, you’ll see.” Nick had a little experience with what ‘cyber-warfare’ looked like in real life, and he knew it was much more boring than most mammals expected, especially the idealistic and bright-eyed Judy Hopps. He was expecting the ZPD’s ‘tech team’ to be much the same.

After stepping out of the elevator with Judy on the second level, Nick was not disappointed. As far as he was concerned, the ZPD’s technology department was, in a word, nerdy. Nary a single desk had less than two monitors; some had extravagant setups with four or even five. Lots of pop-culture and video-game posters. Enough typing was happening on heavy, loud keyboards to make a sort of intermittent hum. Judy was expecting screens covered in green-and-black code and flashing warnings; in reality, most were looking at police files, managing servers, browsing the web or looking at phone records. About every third screen had a browser open on social media, forums, or other such websites.

 _Pretty much what I expected_ , Nick thought with a grin.

 _How… normal,_ Judy thought with a small frown.

“Yo, Officers Hopps and Wilde!” an upbeat voice called. The caller, a sharp-looking tiger in black jeans and a white shirt, stood up and walked over to them. Others noticed their entrance, especially when the tiger pointed them out – some smiled, some waved, most ignored them.

“Alex McClaw, ZPD tech advisor,” the tiger introduced himself, shaking Nick and Judy’s hands. “Big fan of you guys.” Now that he was standing closer, it was clear he was quite small for a tiger – closer to the size of a panther, or even a cheetah, than to the biggest breed of large cat. He had a big smile, seeming quite enamoured at meeting the famous cop pair.

“Thanks?” Judy said, a little uncertainly.

“Yo,” Nick returned with a handshake and easy smile.

“Now, I assume you’re here because you need something, or because Bogo sent you because he needs something,” Alex said, gesturing for Nick and Judy to follow as he headed back to his desk.

“Yeah, we need about all the information you can get on a cellphone call Hopps received earlier today,” Nick said. “Telco, location, anything.”

Alex nodded. “Today, good. If it was really recent I might be able to get something for you guys tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Judy exclaimed. Nick grinned, matched by a smaller smile from Alex.

“Yeah, the telco world is slow. We’re law enforcement, so they pretty much have to give us records if we ask, but it can take a while for them to dig up anything,” Alex explained.

Nick nodded. “Nothing’s changed, then.”

Alex perked up a little at Nick’s comment. “You’ve worked with telcos, huh?” he asked, sensing a similarity between him and Nick.

Nick shook his head. “Oh no, not me. I used to have some friends who did. They hated it, mostly.”

“So did I,” Alex agreed. “ZPD is much more interesting. So, do you have the call details?”

“Right here,” Judy said, passing over the police report. Alex looked it over sceptically.

“This is… good,” he said eventually, in the sort of tone one uses when figuring out how to politely say things are not good. “But I need more detail than that. Exact time of call would be good, duration would be helpful –“

Seeing Judy’s dangerous expression at the condescending tone, Nick took over. “Well, time was between three-thirty and four PM, probably closer to four. Duration was about a minute, or less, right Hopps? B party is with PB&J, cell number… what’s your cell again, Hopps?”

Judy rattled it off, Alex keying it in almost simultaneously. “Awesome, who was the A party?” he asked.

“Blocked number,” Nick said. Alex’s face fell.

“What? Is that bad?” Judy asked, annoyed at being a bit left out of the loop.

“It’s a pain in the tail,” Alex said. “Basically… a number still needs to be a number, to call out, text, whatever. If it’s withheld, it sorta, gets blocked partway along the way to your phone. Partway through the network.” The tiger shook his head. “That’s a crap explanation. It’s more complicated than that.”

 _Well then explain it properly or fix it,_ Judy felt like saying. “Can you get around it?” she decided on instead.

“Yyy…yes,” he said eventually, dragging out the first syllable. “Eventually. If we don’t know what telco the A party belongs to, I basically have to ask them all to check if they have a call record that matches the detail I’ve got here – someone calling your number, at that time, for this duration. From that, they can also give us the cell tower that the call originated from, SIM ID, and the number, for all the good it’ll do.”

“What do you mean, all the good it’ll do? We need that number!” Judy exclaimed, getting more frustrated with this tiger by the minute.

The tiger in question checked the police report again. “If someone’s smart enough to find your number, they should probably be smart enough to use burner phones.”

“Oh,” Judy said. “Still, a location. That might be helpful.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “I should be able to get something back to you…” he checked his computer’s clock. “Tomorrow, most likely. Day after, if we’re unlucky?”

“What!?” Judy said loudly. She checked her phone – 4:34PM.

“Good luck making them get anything done after four,” Alex joked. His smile vanished when he saw Judy’s growing anger. Nick could’ve stepped in and helped deflect the situation, but… _things might actually be better this way,_ he thought.

“Listen here, McClaw,” Judy said almost threateningly, purple eyes piercing. “I don’t care how lazy they are, you call them up and tell them this is a time critical matter and that an officer’s _life_ could be in danger. Clear?”

“Yes, Officer Hopps,” Alex replied, clearly a bit ill at ease at the rabbit’s temperament. He grabbed a headset hanging from one of his screens. “Tomorrow, at the latest.”

Judy smiled sweetly. “Much better.”

-

Judy turned in the fully completed report some five minutes later and left the station, feeling annoyed she couldn’t do more. As Nick had predicted, the location of the report had raised no eyebrows.

“Interesting day,” Nick mused aloud, once they were outside. It was heading towards evening, and the sun was down enough for Nick to make do without shades. Precinct 1’s curved glass face caught the remaining sunshine admirably. They walked side by side to the subway in an unspoken agreement.

“Yeah… Thanks for being here, Nick,” Judy said. “I probably would’ve freaked out about detailing the report correctly.”

“No, you wouldn’t’ve,” Nick said easily. “You would’ve thought about it for a while, then told the truth, like always.”

“Shut up,” she smiled, giving him a punch on the arm.

“Ow. Tough bunny.” Nick rubbed his arm, but gave her a warm smile all the same.

Pause.

“Nick?” Judy asked in what Nick thought of as that cute, let’s-be-real-for-a-second tone, the one she’d used both times on the sky car.

“Mmm?” Nick responded, watching her. Judy’s ears were up and her eyes were shining, like she had something funny or exciting in her head.

“The police report got me thinking,” she continued, now tugging on an ear. “How public are we going to be, with our… relationship?”

Nick’s eyes widened for a moment, and he swallowed, surprised, before forcing back on his regular contented smile. _I… don’t know,_ he realised. He mentally shrugged and decided to go for honesty. _Best policy, after all._

“I don’t know, Judy,” he said after a moment. “That’s partly up to you.”

“And you,” she returned. “I mean… listen.”

“I double checked the police partner guidelines today,” she continued quietly, “and it’s written in a way that hints that this sort of thing might happen, but doesn’t explicitly condone or outlaw it.”

“Uh huh,” Nick said. “Some of the other partners on the force are like brothers to each other,” he mused. “What we have, isn’t… necessarily that different? As far as work is concerned,” he wondered.

“Yeah,” Judy agreed. She was surprised Nick noticed how close some of her co-workers were, considering he’d only been on the force for a month, compared to Judy’s seven months. _Can’t sneak anything past a fox, I guess_ , she thought dryly.

“So, we obviously keep things professional while we’re on the job,” she continued. Nick nodded easily.

“Course.”

“What about off the clock?” Judy asked, with a smirk up at Nick.

“Well…” he said, some snark sneaking into his voice. “You mean, like, off-duty, out of uniform, type thing? Like… now!?” he exclaimed in a hushed undertone, as if surprised all those things were true, and grabbed Judy’s paw in his own.

Judy laughed. “Don’t push your luck too hard, slick,” she warned, but kept holding his paw anyway.

“Duly noted, Carrots,” he said. “So! Where to next?”

“Hmm. I want to go to my place, collect a few things, then… maybe back to yours for dinner? Or we could eat out?”

“Eh,” Nick sighed, “Don’t really feel like a restaurant tonight, Carrots, if that’s alright… Takeaways at mine?” he offered.

“Sure,” Judy agreed happily.

“Although…” Nick smirked, leaning over to Judy’s ear and dropping his voice to a whisper, “there still might be some eating out later…”

That earned him an even harder punch on the arm. “Ow!”

“Control yourself, fox,” Judy ordered. Still, Nick noticed her ears blush.

“Whatever you say, sweetheart,” Nick chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to read 'Lazy', the explicit Chapter 6.5 talked about, you can find it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7537039
> 
> If that's not your thing, just continue this story. No plot points or anything happen in Lazy, it's just for those who want the smut.


	7. Patrol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Judy investigate Grazelands Park.

Judy Hopps did not get cases of the Mondays. That’s not to say she was resistant to all types of bad days. Some of her bad days just _happened_ to be Mondays. She’d had plenty of other bad days on other days of the week.

Point was, come hell or high water, you can count on Judy Hopps to be there in the bullpen on Monday mornings, figuratively and literally bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Now, she’d tempered her optimism with a bit of realism, of course. Seven months with the police force will do that. But in fact, now that her optimism was less naïve and more stomachable, it actually resonated with her fellow officers more. Including Nick.

So it was on this Monday morning, with eight and a half more hours until the forty-eight hours were up, that Nick found a certain proudness in staying with Judy for peace of mind after the call. Now, their Saturday night and lazy Sunday had been enjoyable in other ways, of course. But still.

Judy had gotten a call from the IT department that lazy Sunday, which had come at an inopportune moment to disrupt their time together, so to speak. The malicious phone call had indeed seemed to come from a burner phone; at any rate, the SIM card used to make the call had been deactivated after. They had a hint of a lead, however; the call had originated with the cell tower that provided service to Grazelands Park, a large area in Savannah Central.

Nick shelved his thoughts of yesterday out of mind as Bogo entered the bullpen from his office, sparking the usual ruckus among the larger cops. Nick put on his ‘good morning Chief’ smirk; the one he liked to assume after occasionally poking some joke at the Chief. After a month, it was clear the two of them were going to get along like a fox and a bull. Which is to say, one would be sly and the other would be angry, but they held a grudging respect for one another.

“Good morning. Sit,” he commanded as he took the podium. The officers complied, as usual, putting Judy’s face below the desk. All that was plainly visible of Nick was his head, which still managed to be almost equally emotive without a visible body.

“Alright, let’s get through this quickly, there’s not much on the docket,” he said, donning his reading glasses. “Assignments until further notice.

“Officers Wolford, Grizoli; patrolling Downtown.” The wolf officers in question got up and took their file, seeming to descend into a non-verbal argument about who was driving before leaving.

“Officers Fangmeyer, Delgato; Savannah Central.” The lion and tiger duo grabbed their file and made their exit.

And so on. Two to Sahara Square, three to the Rainforest District. This was more or less Chief Bogo’s ‘standard’ assignment procedure. Each team on their home turf, usually to areas their species excels in. The wolves worked excellently in Downtown thanks to their ability to pick up and detect distinct scents. The lion and tiger were more suited to the wider streets of Central. And so on.

“Officers Hopps and Wilde; Savannah Central.” Bogo said. Inwardly Judy cheered – Central was their home turf and one of the more relaxed patrols. Nick grabbed the file and the two smallest cops headed for the door.

“Hold it! Officer Hopps, I want you in my office in five minutes.” Bogo called, pointing a hoof at his door. Judy tilted her head, confused, but nodded all the same before making her exit with Nick.

“Wonder what that’s about?” Nick said after they had left the bullpen.

“I don’t know,” Judy admitted. _But I have some guesses, none of them good_ , she thought, fearing their meeting might have to do with the phonecall, or her weekend with Nick, or at worst, both.

“Think you can make up some excuse to keep you busy till I’m back?” Judy asked. Their standard procedure was to patrol together in the same car, but that wasn’t necessarily detailed in their assignment.

“I’ll sabotage the cruiser if I have to,” Nick sarcastically replied, just as the bullpen door opened and a pair of elephant officers walked out, one of them giving him a puzzling look.

“Just kidding,” Nick smiled.

“You better be, Wilde,” the elephant shot back. “The mechanics work hard on those cruisers!”

“Woe betide whoever messes with them,” Nick quipped. “I’ll get the cruiser ready, Hopps. See you in a few.”

“Mmhmm,” Judy nodded. She leaned against the wall as Nick headed off, verbally sparring with the elephant. Her own thoughts drifted to what Bogo could want. _Probably related to the call… Maybe he wants us to check out Grazelands Park? Or stay away from it?_ She mused over the possibilities until she noticed the bullpen had emptied. Judy shrugged off the wall and headed in, just in time to see Bogo returning to his office himself.

“Hopps, good timing. Come in,” he said, leaving his door open as he went in, ducking his horns under the doorway. Hopps quickly followed, taking the chair across the desk.

“Good weekend?” Bogo asked as he took his seat.

That simple question was enough to send Judy into internal panic mode. _Oh, crackers, what to say? How much to say? Dare I even mention Nick?_

“Decent enough, sir,” she commented idly. “Apart from that call… but that didn’t bother me too much.”

Bogo nodded. “McClaw added his findings to the report, which I was reading this morning,” he continued without preamble. Straight to the point as always. “I see that the call originated from Grazelands Park.”

“That’s correct, sir,” Judy said.

“Do you plan to investigate the area during your patrols today, Officer Hopps?” he asked bluntly. Judy still had a hard time getting over his seemingly accusatory tone. _It’s just the way he talks_ , she reminded herself. _He’s not being dismissive. Relax, Judy._

“Yes sir, I did,” she admitted.

Bogo took off his glasses and looked almost speculatively at Judy, sitting brightly in her seat. “The safety of my officers is of very high concern to me, Hopps.”

“Yes sir, I understand.”

“Perhaps.” Bogo rubbed his chin with a claw-like hoof. “At any rate, you may investigate the park if you like. I have assigned Fangmeyer and Delgato to Central today _because_ I value your safety. If you see trouble, Hopps, they are to be your immediate backup. Is that clear?”

Judy nodded, but felt a bit affronted at the idea of Bogo thinking she needed backup so desperately. She opened her mouth to speak, but Bogo raised a hoof.

“I don’t want to hear about how you’re not a token bunny who can handle herself,” he warned, but then his expression softened and he even gave a small smile. “You’ve already proven that to me. It’s a precaution for your safety, if you should need it.”

Judy nodded again, more earnestly this time. “Thank you, chief. I’ll call them if I need them.”

“Very good. Off you go.” Bogo returned his glasses to his nose and started on some paperwork, and Judy made her exit, a little more bounce in her step than she went in with. She made her way through the rather emptied-out Precinct to the garage, finding her assigned cruiser. She didn’t see Nick anywhere, so she opened the driver’s door and hopped into the seat.

“Ready to make the world a better place?” Nick’s voice said from beside her, making Judy jump. Nick was half-hidden down below the passenger seat, now uncrouching with his fist held out, a great big cocky smirk on his face, green eyes sparkling with mirth.

Judy rolled her eyes, huffed and started the car. _Great. Someone finally told him about that._

“Don’t leave me hanging, Carrots!” Nick exclaimed, shaking his fist, before bursting out laughing. “Hahaha, oh man, fist bumps? You really _were_ a naïve bunny.” He kept chuckling to himself as he climbed up into his seat.

“Laugh it up, sly fox, I’ll make you sleep on the couch,” Judy shot back irritatedly.

Nick stopped. “Who said… we were…” he trailed off.

Judy realised what she’d said. “Oh, Nick, it was a joke. I don’t mean I’m still staying at yours. The forty-eight hours are almost up, after all.”

“Yeah,” Nick agreed, seeming to then lapse into thought.

Judy had started the car and was leaving the Precinct when Nick continued, “Interesting idea, though.”

Judy started, then thought about it. “I… guess it is,” she said. She drove in silence for a minute, both of them absorbed in their thoughts.

“I think… I would like that,” Judy said eventually.

“I know I would, Fluff,” Nick shot back immediately his usual sly grin. Judy smirked. _That delivery. He was probably planning that._

“Why don’t we talk about it after work, then?” Judy decided.

“Deal,” Nick said, now untucking his shades from his front pocket and donning them coolly. Judy wasn’t sure if she wanted to hit him or kiss him for wearing shades in the cruiser _again_. Judy racked her brain for a joke or quip about it that she hadn’t already used. No, no, she’d used them all.

“So, where are we headed, Officer Fluff?” Nick asked. “You seem to be taking a different route than usual.”

“I thought we’d go check out Savannah Park. Walk around a bit, you know, display a community image,” she said, taking another corner.

“That sounds straight out of the textbook, Carrots,” Nick teased. “But I think you’re just looking for an excuse to go on long walks in the park with me.”

“If you’re not too cool for it, Nick. Sunglasses might actually _make sense_ out in a park.” Judy shot back.

“I’m too cool for everything, sweetheart, but I’ll oblige.” Nick said smarmily.

Judy chuckled and shook her head. “That was so lame.”

Nick sighed in mock sadness. “My banter is slipping. Even my co-workers know it. Must be too much hanging around with you.” He gave her a sad stare.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Judy shot back.

“You’re too optimistic, Fluff. My sardonic wit can’t cope.” Nick said, expression deadpan.

Judy laughed, followed shortly after by chuckles from Nick.

“Anyway,” he said, “Savannah Park? Any particular reason you picked that, Carrots?”

“Yeah,” Judy said, a little like she was explaining something obvious. “To look for evidence.”

Nick smirked heartily. “Evidence? A cell-phone call two days ago _isn’t_ evidence, Carrots. I think you’re trying to make this case seem like our _last_ one.”

“No I’m… not?” Judy said.

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Okay, sweetheart,” he said, relaxing a bit more into his chair.

Judy was about to say something when he interrupted.

“Not saying I won’t help, by the way,” he continued. “I just think it’s pointless, and will reserve the right to point that out at any given moment.”

Judy smiled. “I can work with that.”

They arrived at Savannah Park within another minute, where Judy energetically exited the car, followed by Nick, already doing his best to look bored. Despite his apparent nonchalance his ears perked up and his smirk warmed as he stepped out of the cool car into the sunny park.

“This isn’t so bad,” he eventually admitted, looking around at the trees and wide pathways. “We should get Bogo to let us patrol here more often.”

Judy hummed agreeably, in the process of securing and locking the car. “I wish. Grazelands Park is nice, but it’s not exactly a hub of criminal activity.”

It was true. From what the officers could tell, the park was largely empty at this time of day as most citizens were at work or school. There was a mild crowd of mammals about, young and old, some armed with strollers or purses or bags.

Judy was getting the sense that maybe this was a waste of time, after all. _Where to even start? The park is huge, and it’s just… a park._ She’d harboured some half-baked hope of stumbling upon a clue or piece of evidence that would put them closer to finding the caller.

“Shall we begin our ‘patrol’, Officer Fluff?” Nick asked, sidling up beside her and bringing her out of her thoughts.

“Certainly, Officer Wilde,” she agreed, setting off down the main, widest pathway at a quick pace, soon joined by the taller fox, hands clasped behind his back.

 

-

 

“I cannot believe this,” Nick said seriously.

“Believe it, Nick!” Judy encouraged, holding the item in question already in a Ziploc bag, “This is _hard evidence!”_

It was a cellphone, an old-looking cheap one of mostly plastic. _Of course it’d be the damn cellphone, conveniently left under the first bridge we came across,_ thought Nick. _No, this is not right. At all._

“Carrots – No, _Judy_ , listen to me. That is not evidence; that’s bait,” he warned.

“What are you talking about?” Judy asked. “We may have found it. This could be the burner phone that made the call.”

“Judy… it’s just too convenient,” Nick argued, sullenly crossing his arms. “This feels like a hustle. _Trust me,_ if only this once. Think it through.”

Judy thought for a second and shrugged. “We got lucky.”

“No, someone placed that phone there because they want you to find it,” Nick emphasized.

“But a clue’s a clue, right?” Judy pointed out.

 _Grr_ , he wanted to growl. Nick bit that impulse back. “True,” he admitted. “But we’re being played.” He looked tense, ears perked, posture slightly bent. Judy wasn’t sure he was even aware of how much his posture changed when he was agitated.

“Okay. I get it.” She looked down at the phone in her paws, inspecting it more closely now through the bag. It had been laying in a spot of mud under a bridge on the main walkway. “But I do want it analysed by the ZPD.”

“I can work with that,” he smirked.

“Do you think they can find out where this was sold?” Judy half-wondered, half-asked. “There’s gotta be a serial number somewhere, which should be traceable, and along with the SIM card that might get us – Ah!“

The burner phone rang, its tinny speaker slightly muffled by the plastic bag, causing Judy to start. Judy looked at it first, then at Nick. He looked as nonplussed as she felt, eyebrows perked, ears back. Judy inspected the phone through the bag.

“The caller ID just says, ‘Hello, Judy,’” she noted. “Should I answer it?”

“I dunno, Carrots. Your call, just be on your guard,” Nick said.

After a moment of thinking she did, thumbing the green call button through the bag.

“Hello?” she said coolly.

“Judy Hopps.” The caller’s voice was slightly muffled through the plastic, but audible. The same voice. Same cadence, same strangely familiar shape. _What species could that be?_ Judy kept pondering.

“Hello again,” she said. “Found your old phone.”

“Mmhmm.” That hum sounded awfully familiar. “Good timing.” He didn’t sound at all surprised, even disinterested.

“So, what do you have planned for the next, what,” Judy checked the time, “five-or-so hours? Cause so far, the supposed life-ripping has been rather absent,” Judy said bitingly.

Pause. The caller sounded a tinge amused when he spoke next. “You misunderstood me, Hopps,” he said. “I’m starting then. Keep an ear on the radio.”

The call dropped, cutting straight to dial tone.

Judy looked back at Nick, eyes wide, ears slowly flattening to her back. “Cruiser,” she said simply, beginning to head back towards their vehicle. Nick fell into pace beside her as they headed back up from under the bridge and onto the main path.

“What’d he say?” Nick asked in an urgent undertone.

“He said good timing, when I said I’d found his old phone. You heard the next bit, ‘supposed life-ripping’…” Judy trailed off for a moment. “Then he said, ‘You misunderstood me, Hopps – I’m starting then. Keep an ear on the radio,’” she repeated coldly.

Nick digested that for a moment. “Good timing,” he mused out loud. “Good timing? I doubt that. He _knew_ when to call, Hopps,” Nick said, dropping his voice a bit quieter as they made their way back onto the main path. “I think he’s gotta be around here somewhere.” Nick sniffed at the air, almost instinctively.

Judy’s ear perked at what Nick had said. But not the part about the caller being nearby.

“Nick, say ‘good timing’ again, but sound way more bored. Disinterested,” she said slowly.

Nick raised an eyebrow, but did it. “Good timing,” he monotoned, sounding about as utterly devoid of caring as he could. It made Judy’s fur crawl all over.

“ _It’s a fox,_ ” she gasped. That was what had been bugging her about the caller’s voice; the familiar shape, the same hum, meaning similar shaped vocal cords… it had to be. “That sounds just like him, Nick… he must be a fox.”

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “You can make that call over a crappy cell line through a plastic bag? Judy…”

“Hold on. Same voice, Nick, go ‘mmhmm,’” she said.

Nick rolled his eyes, but dropped his face into the same languid expression. “Mmhmm,” he hummed. _It’s too close to deny,_ Judy thought.

“It must be,” Judy said quietly.

“Judy… I doubt that.” Nick said sceptically. “You just can’t tell. You can find two mammals of the same species _anywhere_ that sound nothing alike. It could be a wolf, or a coyote, or not even a _canine_.”

Judy was about to retort when Nick held up his paw. “And either way, he has _got_ to be watching us. There is absolutely no way he called _just_ as you happened to get that.”

Judy’s ears perked back up at that, and swivelled around in a few directions as she walked. “Not necessarily,” she eventually said. “He could be in a building. He could be watching through a camera. Or he could have just called the phone until we eventually picked up.”

 _No, no, no,_ _Listen!_ Nick thought. “I don’t think that’s his style.”

“Nick, you don’t know anything more than me about this guy,” she said, perhaps a bit too pointedly.

Nick sighed, frustrated. “I trust my gut, Judy. I told you I _know_ how this sort of thing works, I’ve seen it before.”

“Do you smell a fox?” Judy asked, a little suddenly, looking up at Nick.

Nick’s eyebrows furrowed. “You _cannot_ know it’s –“

She cut him off. “Nick. Do you smell a fox?”

Nick huffed. “No. No foxes around, as far as I can tell. That doesn’t mean you’re right.”

With that comment they came to their cruiser, which Judy unlocked and hopped into. Nick mostly slumped into his seat.

“I can tell you’re upset, Nick,” Judy said once their doors had closed. “But I trust my gut too. I _swear_ he sounds like a fox. It’s in the shape of his voice.”

“ _In the shape of his voice?”_ Nick said incredulously. “ _And all predators are just pre-disposed to be savages,”_ he continued loudly, before he’d quite thought it through.

Judy’s face fell immediately, her ears following suit. She lowered her eyes from Nick, turned her face away and started the car. _Oh, shit,_ Nick realised.

“Oh, Judy, I’m so sorry,” he said hurriedly. “I didn’t –“

“You did mean that,” Judy said flatly, meeting Nick’s eyes for a fraction of a second before twisting round to reverse the cruiser. Her eyes were as sad as Nick had seem them. “You think I’m… profiling, or stereotyping, or whatever, I get it.”

 _Because you are,_ a tiny part of Nick’s mind said. “I just… think you’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Again. Like before,” she said sullenly. She put the cruiser in gear and began to drive, focusing her attention on the road.

Nick took a deep breath. “… A little. I’m sorry I said that, Carrots, honestly, I didn’t think it through.”

“I’m sorry too, Nick. A million times over for what I said back then,” she said morosely.

 _I know,_ Nick thought. _I remember._

“Okay,” Judy continued, a little more steel entering her voice. “Fox or not, it doesn’t matter right now. We have the phone.”

“The bait phone,” Nick reminded.

“Cheese and crackers, can you drop it?!” Judy said loudly. “We need to find out where it came from, and update Bogo on the situation.”

“… Okay,” Nick agreed, after a short pause.

Judy pulled to a smooth stop at a red light. “Hey,” she said, a little quieter, looking over at Nick. She leaned over and grabbed his paw, which more-or-less forced Nick to meet her eyes. The sadness wasn’t entirely gone, he thought. _She’s… worried,_ Nick came to realise.

“I love you, Nick,” she said softly.

“I know,” he said. Judy raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Is that all?” she smirked.

“I love you,” Nick corrected, returning the smirk. Deep down, he thought, _we’re being played._

“Now say what’s on your mind,” she requested gently, returning her paw to the steering wheel.

Nick got his thoughts in order for a moment, taking a breath. “All I want you to remember, Judy,” he said carefully, “Is that this could be a setup. I still think it was far too easy to find the phone. The caller planned that part. He probably plans on us finding out where it got sold.”

“Okay. I agree he planned on it,” Judy said. “But it’s our only lead. We’ll follow it cautiously.”

“Great,” Nick smiled. “Keep your sly bunny senses on.”


	8. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The forty-eight hours is nearly up.

Judy Hopps had a bit of a habit of bursting loudly through the doors of the ZPD’s Precinct 1, causing a few ears and heads to check in their direction. She couldn’t help it. Every time, it seemed so _dramatic._ She loved it. Nick sauntered in a few steps behind with an eye roll, hands in pockets, collected and casual as always.

“Clawhauser! Is Chief Bogo in?” Judy called to the pudgy cheetah at the desk as she approached.

“Hey Judy,” Clawhauser practically chirped. “Chief’s in, and I think he’s free.” He noticed the Ziploc bag Judy had grasped in her hand. “What’s it about?” he asked wryly, leaning forward on the desk to get a better look at what was in her hands.

“Just a new lead on a case,” Judy said hurriedly, starting to turn away for the bullpen.

“Ooh, the _mysterious caller?”_ Clawhauser said conspiratorially. “Did you find his phone?”

“Clawhauser…” Judy sighed irritatedly, turning back and shooting him a look.

“Oh, sorry, was I not meant to read the report?” he said, seeming genuinely concerned. “I was just interested when I saw the file turn up with you guys on it and – “

Judy shushed him. “Look, just, _please_ , don’t tell anyone about the case? Keep it quiet?” Judy asked.

“No problem,” Clawhauser said happily.

Judy and Nick made their way to the bullpen, which was empty now, and up to Chief Bogo’s door, where Judy knocked twice. They both heard Bogo get up from his chair, heavy footsteps falling as he made his way to the door and opened it. Despite her better judgement, something deep down in Judy was still slightly ill at ease being stared down on by the massive bull.

“Officers. Can I help?” Bogo said flatly, looking down through his glasses to Judy and Nick.

“It’s about the case, Chief,” Judy said, holding up the phone in the plastic bag. “We may have found some evidence, and there’s been another call. I think you’ll want to hear about it.”

Bogo nodded, opening the door a bit further and returning to his seat. “Come in then. Get the door behind you.”

“Thank you, Chief,” Judy said, relieved he’d give them the time. She hopped up to the chair across the desk and Nick closed the door and joined her on the same seat.

“We found a phone at Grazelands Park, sir,” Judy began, placing the bag on his desk. Bogo donned his glasses and eyed it speculatively. “It looks like a burner phone, and I think it’s probably the one that called me.”

“Hopps… surely you know how unlikely that sounds,” Bogo said, a hint reproachfully.

“There’s more, sir. Nick said the same thing, but just after that the phone received a call. The caller ID said “Hello, Judy”, so I answered it through the bag.”

Bogo rubbed his chin. “I see.”

“I think he knew when to call, Chief,” Nick added. “Seems likely he might have been watching us at the park.”

“I’m inclined to agree, Wilde,” Bogo said. “What happened next?”

“He said I’d misunderstood his first call, and that he’s starting something _after_ the forty-eight hours are up,” Judy continued. “And said to keep an ear on the radio.”

“And that was all? Nothing about what he has planned?” Bogo asked.

“No, sir,” Judy confirmed.

Bogo looked back down at his desk for a moment. Judy noticed, surprisingly, that Bogo still had the case report they’d worked on on his desk.

“Right then,” Bogo said, almost to himself. He looked back up at Judy and Nick with a hint of curiosity. “What’s your next move, Officers?”

Judy tilted an ear, a little confused at his reaction. Nick looked bemused. “Well, sir,” Judy started, “We planned to get the phone checked by the tech team to see where it was sold, and go from there.”

“You don’t think it seems odd?” Bogo asked pointedly, curiosity evaporating. “Either of you?”

“No, I mean _yes_ , I do, sir,” Judy stumbled. “Nick and I discussed the option that it could be a setup, but it _is_ our only lead.”

“Hmmf,” Bogo huffed. “ _Discussed it?_ From how it sounds, Officer Hopps, there’s no doubt about it. Do you agree, Officer Wilde?” Bogo asked, turning his attention to the fox.

 _Well he’s sharp,_ Nick thought. _More than I gave him credit for._

“Well… yes, sir,” Nick agreed, trying to sound like he wasn’t siding against his partner.  “If I were still a street-fox I’d call this a hustle from the beginning.”

Bogo huffed from his nose again, seeming amused. “Despite your non-official parlance, Wilde, I’d agree this is a… ‘hustle’.”

“But, sir…” Judy began.

“But what, Hopps?” he interrupted. “Are you going to ask me to risk having you in danger for the sake of being personally invested in this case?”

Judy bit back what she had been about to say, rethinking her words. “Chief, I feel I’m a natural fit for this case. If I can get a lead to work on I’m sure I can work through this.”

“No, Hopps,” Bogo stated simply. “Perhaps your first, shall we say, ‘crusade’ has made you forget, but the ZPD is _not_ in the habit of risking its officer’s safety unless strictly necessary.”

Judy’s ears drooped downwards. “Yes, sir,” she confirmed quietly.

“One moment,” Bogo said, turning to his phone and dialling in a short extension on speakerphone.

After a couple rings, it picked up. “Alex McClaw, ZPD tech,” came the slightly filtered voice.

“McClaw, come to my office in ten minutes. There’s a lead we need your assistance on,” Bogo said. Judy perked up a bit, looking hopeful.

“Yes, sir,” Alex responded.

“That is all.” Bogo ended the call, removed his glasses and fixed Judy with an official look.

“Officer Hopps, I am assigning you to filing duty at the Precinct for the remainder of the day. Check with Clawhauser on what needs doing.”

Judy sighed quietly. It was about the most boring task in existence. “Understood, Chief.”

“Officer Wilde, you may continue your patrol of Savannah Central. Officers Fangmeyer and Delgato are in the area and are to be your immediate backup if anything happens. I’ll radio them the outline of the situation.”

Nick nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“You’re excused, Officer Wilde.”

Nick nodded again, face impassive. He dropped down from the seat and left the office. After he clicked the door shut behind him, the Chief spoke.

“Hopps,” Bogo started, in a softer tone. “I can tell you’re worried. I can tell you _want_ to catch this idiot.”

Despite her mood, Judy chuckled at Bogo’s matter-of-fact insult. “Yeah.”

“I want to remind you that you can rely on your fellow officers. This doesn’t have to be _your_ case, this is the ZPD’s case.”

Judy spoke hesitantly. “I understand, sir, but if at all possible, I’d like to keep it… just to who needs to know?” she nearly pleaded.

“Why?” Bogo asked plainly.

 _Uh, duh?_ Judy thought. “Because it’s of a rather personal nature.”

“I don’t agree,” Bogo countered. “Someone is threatening and possibly stalking a ZPD officer. That’s what I see.”

“The nature of the threats, sir…” she tried.

Bogo glanced at the report. “’Rip your life apart in the next forty-eight hours,’” he quoted. “I get it. Believe me.”

Bogo took off his glasses and let out a deep sigh, eyes shifting off Judy and seeming to focus far away. “I know what it’s like to be invisibly attacked, Hopps. When I became Chief of Police the reception was not warm.”

Judy tilted her head; she hadn’t heard any of this. Bogo noted her reaction with a small smile.

“The ZPD was very much a ‘predator’s job’, at that time,” he explained. “You may not realise, but change has been slow. I did my best to reign in the… perceived negative aspects of police officers. Namely that they were all aggressive, intimidating brutes.”

“Oh,” Judy said. She had to admit she was a bit lax on her knowledge of the ZPD’s history. Occasionally when digging through old files she’d come across some rather strong bias against the ZPD, but now it made sense.

“And I received plenty of backlash for allowing a _rabbit officer_ in the ranks, even though it wasn’t entirely my decision, as I’m sure you remember.”

Judy nodded, thinking back to the Chief’s first reactions at her joining the force.

“You proved me wrong on many fronts,” Bogo continued. “I absolutely do not doubt your competence, Hopps. I want to keep my officers safe. That means keeping you out of harm’s way. And it sometimes means I have to remind you when to take a step back.”

“I know, Chief,” Judy said gratefully. “Thank you for explaining.”

Bogo nodded. “Go be a good cop.”

Judy smiled and made her exit, thoughts turning over as she made her way through the bullpen. She hadn’t expected the Chief to know what it was like to receive threats and backlash, like she had. _He makes a little more sense every day,_ she thought with a small smirk.

Her phone buzzed with a text, the tone indicating it was from Nick. _How’d the grilling go?_

She smiled. _Not really a grilling. Turns out we have a bit in common,_ she texted back.

After a few moments Nick replied. _Promotion any day, right Carrots? Have fun with the filing. I’ll case some cell providers around the Park. Lemme know when you’re off if you want to catch up._

 _Will do. See you soon, slick,_ she sent.

 

-

 

Judy neatly tucked away the last of a stack of paperwork into its correct cabinet, having to stand on tip-toes to reach it. She sighed, rubbed her face with a paw and checked the time. Nearly half past three.

A little cautiously, she left the empty filing room and made her way up the stairs. She had a hint of a plan in mind… or maybe it was just a hope. Or a worry. Or something. She hopped up the last few stairs and entered the main lobby, heading for Reception.

“Hi, Clawhauser,” she said tiredly, waving to the cheetah as she walked up.

“Hey there,” Clawhauser mumbled around a mouthful of donut, looking up from his screen. “Taking a break?”

“Yeah,” she said. _Something like that._ “I finished that stack of filing. Mind if I sit and listen to the radio for a bit?” she asked, putting on a bit of that ‘hopeful bunny’ look, eyes shining and ears perked.

Clawhauser couldn’t fight against that. “Sure,” he said happily, rolling out the spare seat from the desk for her.

After she’d sat down and put her head in her paws, leaning her elbows on the desk, Clawhauser leaned over and quietly asked her ear, “So what’s it really about?”

Judy smirked and waved the curious cheetah away. “Shush. Just listening to the radio.”

“Ahh,” Clawhauser nodded, tapping his nose once with his spare paw. “I get you.” Judy smirked and rolled her eyes.

“Want a donut?” Clawhauser offered, seeming to produce one from nowhere. Judy wasn’t sure if he had a box stashed under his desk or if the donut had appeared from somewhere less hygienic. “Err, no thanks,” she declined politely.

Clawhauser’s radio receiver was abuzz as usual, tuned to each and every cruiser and officer in the area. It was easy for Judy to pick up what was happening, even though she was over on the other side of the desk. Her ears twitched as she heard Grizoli calling in their car’s position, patrolling down Pride Street in Central.

She had been sat for about five minutes, keeping mental tabs on where each car was, when her phone startled her. A text from someone.

She checked it, it was a number she didn’t recognize. “Oh no…”

_Time’s up._

“What?” Clawhauser said distractedly, glancing over from his computer.

 “Officer Wilde to Dispatch,” Nick’s voice came over the radio. “Code four-one-five at Grazelands Park.”

Judy started. A 415 was any general disturbance, the preliminary code an officer gave when he was gathering detail. Clawhauser dropped what he was doing and grabbed the receiver.

“Copy that, Wilde, four-one-five at Grazelands Park,” Clawhauser responded. He glanced at Judy, a bit of worry forming in his eyes.

“Probably some kids up to no good, right?” Clawhauser tried. “School just got out.”

That did nothing to ease Judy’s mind. She waited, ears perked, body tense. She checked the time again, 3:30 –

“Wilde to Dispatch!” Nick seemed to shout through the radio. “Ten ninety-one, savage fox in Grazelands Park, coming down the main path towards Palm Avenue!”

 _Oh, no, no no no…_ Judy thought, eyes going wide. _Nick, please be careful!_

“Copy Wilde, sending backup.” Clawhauser quickly said, before pressing a few keys on the receiver and switching frequencies.

“All units in Savannah Central, we have a ten ninety-one in Grazelands Park, savage fox near Palm Avenue. Provide backup immediately.”

“Fangmeyer and Delgato,” came a quick reply. “En route, be there in a couple minutes.”

“Copy that,” Clawhauser responded.

“McHorn, Reidovich,” another squad radioed in. “On our way, be there in ten minutes.”

“Copy McHorn,” Clawhauser noted.

Judy had to hand it to Clawhauser – when he wasn’t distracted he was a good dispatcher. Judy didn’t think she could trust her voice to be quick and even right now.

“Wilde here,” Nick said urgently. “There’s a bystander being attacked, I’m going in with the tranquilisers!”

“Copy Wilde, Backup is two minutes away!” Clawhauser responded immediately.

No response. Judy waited with baited breath, eyes stuck on the receiver.

She was startled by Chief Bogo quickly stomping out of the bullpen into the foyer. He addressed a couple officers that were nearby.

“Jameson, Richards! Grab your side-arms and stand guard outside the door until further notice, now!” he practically bellowed. One of them literally dropped his papers and they headed for the door, pulling pistols from holsters.

“Hopps, my office,” he commanded, striding up to the desk and handing Judy a tranquiliser gun. “You can listen there.”

Judy was loath to miss any call that came in, but nodded, looking up at the Chief. “Yes, sir,” she said, taking the dart gun.

“Let’s go.” Bogo stomped back to his office, Judy in tow.

When they arrived Bogo pressed a key on his receiver. “Clawhauser, did we miss anything?”

“Fangmeyer and Delgato have nearly arrived sir, nothing from Nick,” he responded quickly.

“Sir, I got a text on my phone,” Judy said, “It just said ‘ _time’s up._ ’”

The Chief muttered something terribly uncouth under his breath. “Any ideas, Hopps? What do you think the caller is trying to accomplish here?”

“I – I don’t know, sir,” Judy said, voice wavering.

“Focus on what you know about him. Motive, details, anything,” he said.

 _Details._ Judy thought she had one. “Chief, I think the caller is – or, or could be, a fox,” she managed.

The Chief raised an eyebrow. “Do you think he went savage himself?”

She ran through the idea in her head. “I have no idea, sir, he could have.”

“Wouldn’t make much sense though, would it?” Bogo mused. “Putting himself in the line of danger. These types usually –“

The radio interrupted him. “Fangmeyer to dispatch on the ten-ninety one. Wilde got the savage with two tranqs, hostile down. Wilde is injured. One bystander slightly scratched up.”

“Copy Fangmeyer, are you still by Palm Ave?” Clawhauser radioed.

“Affirmative.”

“Sending in an ambulance now,” Clawhauser said.

“Copy dispatch. He’s conscious, but cut up pretty bad.”

 _Oh cheese and crackers, Nick…_ Judy thought.

A few long moments later, Fangmeyer radioed in again. “Dispatch, hostile is secure, chained and muzzled. Delgato is giving first aid to Nick.”

“Copy, Fang. Ambulance is on its way, I’ve got them on another line,” Clawhauser said.

“Hopps, how do you know the caller is a fox?” Bogo asked. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

“I… I only picked it out of the sound of his voice, sir,” Judy explained quietly. “When I got Nick to imitate him, they sounded so much alike, tone, cadence, even the way they hum…” she trailed off.

“Right. That’s a possibility,” Bogo noted. He turned back to the radio, hitting the transmit button. “Bogo to Fangmeyer. Have you ID’d the fox?”

“Fangmeyer here, one moment, Chief,” he called back. “Fox is… Nathaniel James Huntson. Let’s see, wallet, coffee card, credit card… oh, _shit._ ”

“Fangmeyer!” Bogo reprimanded.

“Sorry, sir,” Fangmeyer said quickly. “There’s a card in his wallet with a message: _“The hunt is on, Judy Hopps._ ”

Bogo glanced at Judy. “Hopps,” he said rather gently.

“Yes, sir?” Judy’s voice cracked. Her paws were shaking.

“Stay focused. Keep your brain moving. Right now is the time for ideas. Don’t let this get to you.”

 _Don’t let this get to you,_ her mind repeated. _I think I can do that._

“Kidnapping?” she thought out loud. “How else can you sneak something like that into someone’s wallet? Unless, the fox is working with the caller?”

Bogo nodded. “I’ll get the tech team to run a background check when this is sorted.”

“Fangmeyer to Dispatch,” the radio came again. “The ambulance has Nick and the bystander. They’re on their way back and patching him up in the car. The medic said Nick’s looking good, all things considered.”

“Copy, Fangmeyer,” Clawhauser said, relief clear in his voice even over the radio.

Bogo slumped in his chair, rubbing his forehead in a clawed hoof. “Right,” he said after a moment. He leaned back over to the radio and dialled in to dispatch only.

“Clawhauser, keep me updated on Fangmeyer and Delgato. I want a Precinct meeting in the bullpen in half an hour.”

“Yes sir, I’ll call it over the speakers,” Clawhauser returned.

“And organize a background check on that savage fox. Liaise with Fangmeyer for details.”

Bogo looked over at Judy, who was sitting in the chair, head down, fidgeting with the tranquiliser in her hands.

“I don’t think you’ll need that, Hopps,” he said gently, reaching over his desk. “Just a precaution. I may have over-reacted.”

Judy handed over the tranquiliser, paws still a bit shaky. She sniffed.

“You alright, Hopps?” Bogo asked. Judy noticed how he tried to make his usually gruff voice comforting. It was rare to see that sort of emotion from the Chief.

“Yeah,” she said, rather weakly. She met Bogo’s eyes, seeing real, protective concern there. “Sounds like Nick will be alright. And at least we have more leads now.”

“He’s as tough as they come,” Bogo reassured. “I’m concerned for you right now.”

Judy looked away. “Why does this have to happen to me?” she said quietly.

“It seems like the caller has a particular interest in you,” Bogo said cautiously. “There could be any number of reasons why. What’s important is your safety and peace of mind.”

Judy nodded, more to herself than the Chief. “Okay.”

“I’ll assign your usual cruiser to be yours for now, Hopps,” Bogo decided. “You can use it for transport to and from work.”

“I appreciate that, Chief.”

“Mmhmm. Do what you like for the next half hour, stay here if you like. And I’d like you in the bullpen for the meeting, if you’re up to it.”

Judy met the Chief’s eyes, a bit of energy starting to come back to her. “Thanks, Chief, I’ll be there. But I think I have a case to update.”

Bogo smiled. “Very good. See you in half an hour.”

Judy made her exit, nerves and stress starting to harden into determination. That was typically how it went, she thought. Perhaps that was what made her different than most rabbits – she never let her fear fully control her. Instead, she worked on it until something good came out of that emotion. Something useful. Something brave.

“Judy?” Clawhauser asked as she strode past the desk.

“Yeah?” she said, a little brusquely. She saw that worry again in Clawhauser’s eyes, same as Bogo’s earlier.

“You… doing alright?”

“Yes,” she said determinedly. “I’ve got a case to crack.”


	9. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ZPD gets a priority re-arrangement.

Judy Hopps sat uneasily in her usual spot in the bullpen. Front row, first on the left. That hadn’t changed for seven odd months. What had changed, is that Nick was not beside her.

She felt the vacancy beside her like some sort of vacuum. It seemed to suck the energy and confidence out of her.

 _Or maybe I’m just being dramatic,_ she thought. But still. Her partner, in more than just the official sense, was absent. It would have been impossible not to feel some effect from that.

Judy did her best to ignore whatever sensation this half-empty seat was giving her and focused on her case, turning things over in her head. In the last half hour she’d updated the police report with all of today’s events and reported back to Bogo with five minutes to spare. He’d commended her on the quick work and directed her to take her spot in the bullpen, where she’d waited as the last of the officers filed into the room around her.

None of them seemed ill at ease, of course. Apart from the slight ruckus Bogo had caused in the foyer earlier, nobody had a clue what was going on.

 _Not even sure I have a clue,_ she thought. On the surface things were straight-forward enough – someone had acquired Night-Howler serum and caused a fox to go savage. At least three laws broken right there. What eluded her, what she was concerned about, was she had no idea _why._ Nick had suspected it to do with her high profile. None could deny she had become something of a symbol to the ZPD, and somewhat to Zootopia at large. That made some degree of sense, she had to admit – but then why target Nick to be attacked?

Maybe there was some ulterior motive she was missing, she mused. Nick had suspected this was a hustle from the start, after all. Perhaps it wasn’t really anything to do with her. Or perhaps it was. Right now, it made little difference. What mattered was the case.

Bogo made his typical stoic entrance, though his mood now seemed downright grim, rather than just subdued. His eyes were dark and fierce. No matter that the Chief wasn’t a predator himself – when he wanted to, he looked every bit as powerful and intimidating as one. He took the podium without flourish, donned his glasses and checked his files, before looking up and around at the assembled crew.

“Officers,” he began. “Just over half an hour ago we had our first confirmed Night-Howler attack since the Bellwether case.”

Judy felt the mood of the room shift immediately. Glances were exchanged. Eyes widened or narrowed. Officers shifted in their seats.

“Officer Wilde was injured while apprehending the savage mammal in Grazelands Park, who was also a fox. Officers Fangmeyer and Delgato arrived shortly after to secure the fox and provide first aid to Wilde while the ambulance was en route. Well done.” Bogo nodded at the feline pair. Despite the darkened mood, the lion and tiger received a few grins, arm punches and slaps on the back.

“The attack may be connected to events Officer Hopps brought to my attention two days earlier; namely, someone has been threatening her over phone. The Night-Howler attack today fits a time-frame the threatener provided.”

Judy felt all eyes on her. She knew Bogo would have to mention the caller – it was far too interconnected in this case to not. Still, it was… embarrassing, somehow. She kept her posture straight and confident and tried to ignore the warmth in her ears.

“Officers, this case is now our top priority. You are all advised to be on your guard and exercise caution. From now on you are all required to wear a tranquiliser on patrol. Furthermore, I have requested several shipments of Night-Howler antidote to the armoury. As it arrives, every cruiser will be outfitted with one dose of antidote.

“In the meantime, the technology department are following up on leads. However, as always, we need agents in the field.” Bogo donned his glasses and filed through his folders. “Assignments!

 “Wolford, Grizoli; patrolling Grazelands Park. Look for any evidence of where the shooter was. Scent it out if you need to.”

 _Desperate measures,_ Judy thought. Officers were trained to mostly ignore scenting for various reasons – fallibility, biases, and accountability were issues with using one’s nose. She knew there was some debate whether scenting could be considered an illegal search, in the right contexts. She watched the wolf pair grab their file and make a quick, quiet exit.

“Fangmeyer, get me a full background check on the assaulted mammal. Delgato, Higgins; patrol Savannah Central for a shift. Snarlov, Jungaby; the same.” The mammals grabbed their cases and filed out of the room. Bogo checked the next file and looked down to Judy.

“Hopps, you’re assigned to the Precinct for the time being. Assist the tech team in any way you can and keep the case up to date.”

“Yes, sir,” Judy answered, getting up to take her folder. She made her exit as Bogo called out the next assignment.

 _About as much as I could expect_ , she thought. _Figures I’d be stuck at the Precinct, out of harm’s way._ Part of her wanted to march right out on the streets and find some criminals to kick around. But a larger part of her acknowledged the Chief was right, as usual; things were too uncertain to take to the streets right now.

With a bit of a half-effort sigh, Judy made her way to the stairs and hopped up to the technology department. Despite things being all abuzz downstairs, the team here looked, well, slack as always.

Except one – Judy picked up Alex talking energetically to someone, but she couldn’t hear anyone else – probably a phone conversation. Since nobody else seemed to be stepping up to tell her what to do, Judy made her way to his desk quietly.

“ _Yes,_ we have clearance,” Alex was saying exasperatedly into his headset. He looked agitated, his tail slightly bristled, his claws slightly out. “The request was emailed to you less than half an hour ago. _Find it_.” He noticed Judy’s approach and hit a key on his keyboard to mute his microphone.

“Hey, Hopps, I’m on the phone with the cell company right now,” he said. “We should be getting the location of the store the phone was bought from any minute – provided this damn service rep can find the email.”

“Right, good!” Judy said, relieved to be getting somewhere. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Hmm…” The tiger rubbed his chin thoughtfully, brow furrowing for a moment. “Uh, not really, I’m afraid. The lab is analysing the phone as we speak. I’ve already collected the SIM details from it and it’s definitely the one that made the earlier calls. So now I’m on the phone with the provider to get the store location, then we can call them and get a billing address, and hopefully a description, if we’re lucky.” Alex explained.

“I see,” Judy said, feeling a bit useless.

Alex handed her a headset. “You can listen in if you want. Wonderful hold music, we should really look at our selection here.”

Judy smirked and tried to don the headset, but found it didn’t really fit in front or behind her ears very well. “Uh…”

“Oh. I should’ve thought of that. Sorry,” Alex said. “Um… all the case paperwork up to date?”

“Did all that half an hour ago,” Judy said. “So… we’re waiting?”

“Waiting on hold music,” Alex agreed. “You’d be surprised how much of our time that takes up.”

Judy grabbed a spare chair near Alex’s desk and checked her phone. Nothing new. She took a deep breath, scratched her ears, and waited.

“Hello,” Alex said into his mic after a minute. “Yep. Yes, thank you. One one, three five, eight four.  113584? …  Okay, could you give me their phone number as well please?” Alex grabbed a pen and jotted something down, nodding in time to the call. “Got it. Thank you. Yep, that’s all. Goodbye.” He ended the call and glanced over at Judy.

“Got the store ID and number,” he grinned. “Give me a minute to call them up.”

“Sure,” Judy said half-excitedly, half-tiredly. And she only half-listened to Alex as he called the store, her mind racing. In a few minutes they might have a lead, and a good one too.

 _But surely he’d be smart enough to not use his own billing address?_ Judy thought. It could be another trap, another dead end. Just like the park. _But it’s all we’ve got to go on._

And no criminal is perfect. They all make mistakes. In seven months Judy hadn’t dealt with anything as organized and sinister as the Bellwether case, so she’d seen first-hand how sloppy and careless most criminals were. Leaving evidence, leaving connections. There’s always a connection.

Judy was broken out of her thoughts as Alex put a piece of paper in front of her. It had the mobile number, a name and a billing address on it.

 

_Tertius Renart._

_116 Northoak Terrace._

“The clerk didn’t remember anything about the buyer,” Alex said. “But she pulled up the record.”

“Thanks,” Judy said, looking up at the tiger. “I should get this to Bogo right away.”

“On the double,” Alex smiled. “Good luck. See you later, Hopps.”

“Bye McClaw, thanks again!” Judy called, already practically hopping to the door, but trying to make it look like she wasn’t. McClaw chuckled after her hasty exit as her heard her bounding down the stairs.

-

Judy tapped nervously, waiting in front of Bogo’s office door.

“Come in,” Chief Bogo half-yelled, apparently from his desk. Judy entered, leaving the door open in her haste to hand the paper to him.

“McClaw sent me with this, sir,” she said, holding the paper about as high as she could reach.

Bogo looked it over, nodding as he scanned the three lines. “Hmm. McClaw works quickly when it’s actually urgent.”

Judy hid a small grin by climbing up into the chair opposite the desk. When she looked back Bogo was drafting up notes with a pen.

“I’ll organize a TUSK raid for tomorrow. Now, Hopps… It’s nearly the end of the day. Given the situation, I’ll organize officers to guard your residence for now, or you could stay at the station, if you’d like.”

“Thanks Chief,” Judy said, considering. “I’m fine to head home.”

Bogo nodded. “Just give me a few minutes to get the first officers on shift.”

-

Judy was exhausted.

Truthfully, it didn’t happen often. The level of energy she could maintain perplexed her fox partner, and sometimes even the ZPD. Today hadn’t been a physically exhausting today, but nevertheless, she felt as drained as some of her hardest days in training.

So it was that despite herself, she nearly dozed in the afternoon warmth in the police cruiser. Rather than take public transport than usual, Bogo insisted she should take a ride with her first guard shift.

Officer Fangmeyer pulled to a smooth stop in front of Judy’s apartment building, and Judy tumbled out into the sunlight with a huge yawn.

“Chief’s ordered me to guard outside your room, Officer Hopps,” Fangmeyer said with an eye-roll as he got out. “I think he’s being a mite overprotective, but boss’s orders is boss’s orders.”

“Fair enough,” Judy said, walking with Fangmeyer into the Grand Pangolin Arms. Every so often she had to remind herself of every time the Chief said he _didn’t_ think she wasn’t tough. However… today, she thought she wouldn’t mind some company. Some security.

“How you holding up, Hopps?” Fangmeyer asked as they climbed the stairs. Judy sighed. _I’m not even sure,_ she thought.

“I’m okay,” she decided. “We’ve got a lead. Nick wasn’t badly hurt…“ She trailed off a little. “So yeah. Okay.”

Fangmeyer nodded. “We’ve got your back, Hopps,” he said as they reached her door. “You want to go out or anything, just let me or whoever’s after me know.”

“Thanks, Fang,” Judy smiled as she unlocked and entered her room.

The tall tiger leaned on the wall casually and nodded down at Judy. “Later.”

Judy closed the door and headed to her bed, checking her phone as she padded over. There was a new text she must’ve missed while half asleep. She checked it – from Nick.

_Hey, how you doing, Carrots? I’m all patched up and the doc says I can get visitors starting tomorrow. I’ll be out before you know it, Fluff, and then you have to deal with me again._

 

Judy grinned, she could practically hear his cadence and timing in the text. She flopped back onto her bed and sent a reply.

 

_I’m doing fine. I’ve got an armed escort and everything now, a real VIP. And Bogo’s planning a TUSK raid on the caller’s place tomorrow. I’ll visit you and fill you in on all the details._

_Sounds good. See you then, Carrots,_ came the reply.

 

_See you then._

Judy sighed and relaxed into her pillows, already starting to doze. Her head lolled back a bit and ears relaxed and creeped downward to lie flat.

Some time later, she awoke to a bright chirp from her phone. She started, looking around. The last of the day out her window had turned blueish as the sun set.

 _I love you, Judy,_ Nick had sent. She couldn’t help from grinning. Despite the day, despite everything, there’s always solace in that reminder.

 _I love you too, Nick,_ Judy sent back without a pause. Satisfied, she got up, closed and locked her window, put her phone on to charge, and changed into pyjamas to sleep. She thought about locking the door, but decided she’d be fine with the officer outside. She climbed into bed and, to her brief surprise, fell rather easily to sleep.


	10. Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy gives a certain predator a visit.

Judy awoke with a start to her bedside alarm blaring. She grimaced as she rolled over and slapped the snooze button. _Damn thing needs a volume adjuster. It does NOT need to be that loud to wake me up._

She sat up in her bed, yawned, stretched, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She checked the time – 5:30 start, like always. The room was still dark, though a bit of blueish ambience was creeping through the window around the curtains.

Mornings were easy for Judy. Automatic. One sequence of actions followed by another, no thought required. Get up, get dressed, grab phone, keys, wallet, earbuds, and out the door.

“Morning, Officer Hopps,” a figure said from the darkened hallway, making Judy practically leap in the air. She fought back the instinct to dash back inside her room and faced the figure instead. After a fearful moment she recognized him.

“Morning, Wolford,” Judy answered, feeling shaken. All she’d seen in the dark were the pointed ears and the snout of a predator. She disdained how much her instincts seemed to sway her sometimes. Wolford yawned and checked his watch, raising a brow.

“You’re up early,” the dark wolf said, blue eyes glinting a little in the dark. “You know you don’t start at the Precinct for an hour and a half?”

“Oh… Good point,” Judy realized. “I usually need it for the train.”

“Well, if you’re heading out, I’m your ride,” Wolford said easily. “Or, you know, feel free to get some more sleep.”

A slow smile spread across Judy’s muzzle. One might call it a grin, even. Not an entirely well-meaning grin, either.

“Well, since we’ve got some time, do you think you could take me to the hospital?” Judy asked.

The wolf looked puzzled for a moment. “The… Ah.” He nodded with a small grin. Judy noticed it was not entirely unlike a certain other predator’s smile. “Well, it’s not visitor hours yet… but I doubt that’d stop you.”

“No. No, it wouldn’t.”

 

-

 

The first thought on Nick’s mind was that someone was waking him up. Nick _hated_ being waked up. _Foxes were nocturnal for a reason,_ he thought sleepily. _Go away. I need this._

“Nick,” he heard someone say through an ear; the other was smothered into his pillow.

Nick just grumbled and rolled over, flattening the other ear. His eyes stayed shut, half out of genuine tiredness and half out of spite. _How dare someone try to wake me up._

“Nick,” they said again. He felt something touch his check. Smooth fur. No pawpad. Tiny, gentle, soft.

_Hey, Carrots,_ an unbidden thought said. _Wait. Carrots?_

Nick sleepily opened his eyes. Judy was standing beside his bed in her uniform – _looking as cute as ever,_ Nick thought – with a gentle smile and a soft paw on his cheek, ears perked up.

“How you doing, Fluff?” Nick mumbled. Judy chuckled and stroked his cheek.

“Good,” she said softly. “Better. Now that I’ve seen you.”

“Lifting your spirits, huh?” Nick said, starting to lean up. He glanced out his window; it was barely dawn outside. “Now, seriously, Carrots,” he said, taking her paw off his cheek and holding it in his own. “What time is it? Waking me up before work? We should have agreements about this down the line,” he joked.

Judy chuckled. “I had some unexpected time before work, so I thought I’d come see you,” she said.

“I appreciate it,” Nick smiled. “C’mere.” He sat up further, holding out his arms, causing the grey bedsheet to fall off his chest. Judy didn’t mind.

They hugged, though Judy was only just tall enough to lean over the hospital bed for it. Nick hugged her tight – _he always does_ , she thought. Judy held Nick a little softer than usual, careful of his injuries. It felt _good_ to relax into his arms, Judy thought. _One day and I’m already missing him._

“How are you healing up?” Judy asked, looking down at Nick’s chest. He was bare-chested, but had bandages wrapped around most of his fuzzy torso.

“Ah, these are just for show,” Nick said with a smirk and a non-committal wave of his paw. “I’m fine, just scratches, really. I’m planning to ditch this place tomorrow.”

Judy looked at Nick sceptically. “Don’t do anything to hurt yourself, slick.”

“That’d be a tragedy. But really, it wasn’t bad, Carrots. I’ve been in worse scuffles.”

“Worse than a fox on Night-Howler?” Judy asked, sounding surprised.

“ _Oh_ yeah,” Nick nodded. “See, the fox only got a couple slashes on that civvy before I hit him with the first tranq, and then he turned his attention on me. So he got a few weaker slashes on me, before I got him in the gut with another one.”

“Nice work, Nick.”

“Thanks. According to the doc that second tranquiliser didn’t do anything to mess him up, which was good to know. I think he’s getting his strength back after the antidote now.” Nick took Judy’s paw again, rubbing it with a thumb. “But how are you doing, Carrots?”

“Fine,” Judy said almost automatically. She saw Nick’s entreating look, those bright green eyes asking for more of a story. “Mostly,” she added quietly.

Nick nodded. “Sometimes that’s the best you’ve got,” he offered. “We’ll track him down, Hopps. We always do.”

“I know,” she smiled. “And the case is going well. Bogo’s organizing a TUSK raid this morning, actually.”

“Oh, really? Do tell, Officer Fluff.”

Judy sat on Nick’s bed. “McClaw got the billing address that paid for the phone yesterday. A place in Northoak Terrace.”

“Really?” Nick said. “Hmm.”

“Is that unusual?” Judy asked.

Nick looked thoughtful. “Northoak is right up on the tip of the Rainforest District. Ocean views, big fancy houses. It’s rich, pretty upper class.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what I expected of a criminal mastermind, but I suppose something like that fits.”

“Hardly a _mastermind_ ,” Judy pointed out. “We got his address. And the tech team will be following up on the location of the call to _his_ old phone, from the park. He’s dropping leads for us all over the place.”

“You got _an_ address,” Nick said. “I mean… I think it’s pretty clear we’re not dealing with a two-bit stalker.” Nick motioned at his own injuries to make his point.

“You think it’s a set-up?” Judy asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Nick frowned, looking down. “Something about this case… makes me think he has it all planned out. Bellwether was different, we were following loose ends… this feels like ends _he_ left loose for us to find.” He looked up at Judy, eyes serious. “Are you going out after the TUSK team?”

“I don’t know,” Judy said honestly. “Chief didn’t say. He might just have me staying in, working paperwork again.”

“Either way… I know it’s not your nature, but _be careful_ , Carrots. At least till I’m back at your side, then feel free to be as reckless as you like,” Nick grinned.

“Hmmph,” Judy huffed, but smiled back anyway. “Fine. No swash-buckling adventures without my fox.”

“I mean, I know it’s hard to manage even another _day_ without me…” Nick smiled, reaching out to pull Judy into another hug. She sighed and let herself get pulled over, relaxing into Nick’s arms and chest.

“I think I’ll manage, somehow,” Judy muffled into his fur. Nick stroked her ears, sighing wistfully.

“I know you will. Tough bunny.”

“Sweet fox,” Judy said, stroking Nick’s cheek. Then she pushed herself back upright, sitting on the side of Nick’s bed again. “You want to say hi to Wolford?”

Nick raised his eyebrows. “Wolford? Why’s he here?”

“The ‘armed guard’ I mentioned,” Judy smiled. “Told you Bogo has me under lock and key right now.”

“So Wolf was your ride to the station,” Nick mused. “So you dragged him here first… and then made him sit in the waiting room so we could cuddle? Why, _Hopps_ , what an abuse of power.”

Judy laughed. “It wasn’t me! He told me he’d wait first, so we could catch up.”

Nick nodded. “How kind. Yeah, send him in. I haven’t had anyone to sharpen my wit on, the doctors are too stuffy.”

Judy nodded and disappeared with a peck on Nick’s forehead. After a moment she returned, followed by the taller grey wolf. Wolford grinned when he saw Nick leaning up and looking lively.

“Hey, Fox,” Wolford said by way of greeting, grabbing a chair and pulling it up to sit by Nick’s bed. Judy just sat on the end of the bed as before.

“Hey, Wolf,” Nick returned. “How’s things at the Precinct?”

“We’re getting a lot done now that you’re not there, Wilde,” the wolf teased. “It’s all go. Even a TUSK raid coming up sometime this morning.”

“So I heard from Carrots,” Nick said, apparently sidestepping the insult. “No more savages loose?”

“Nothing yet,” Wolford confirmed. “Bogo’s got more beat shifts organized than ever, especially around Central. We’ve all started carrying Night-Howler antidote just in case, though.”

“Good call,” Nick noted. “So, you’ve been delegated to the Hopps Personal Guard for today?”

Wolford laughed and Judy scowled. “That’s right,” he said.

“Oh, shut up, Nick,” Judy said without any real fire.

“Hey, it’s no problem at all, Hopps. _Really_ ,” Wolford said. “We look after our own. And you two… are pretty important,” he finished, a little quieter. Judy’s ears perked up a tad.

“Is that so?” Nick asked. “Care to tell?”

Wolford sighed, kicking back his metal chair on two legs, making it creak dangerously. “Put simply, you two have done more for the reputation of the ZPD than you know.”

Nick nodded, playacting a wise look. “Indeed. We might be wearing collars and muzzles if Hopps hadn’t found the Night-Howler connection.”

Wolford shrugged. “I wasn’t meaning that particularly. In a broader sense… well, we used to be seen as a bunch of predators with more cunning than caution,” he smirked. “Having new blood around here, particularly you two, has helped dissolve that view.”

“Bogo mentioned something of the sort,” Judy said. Wolford just nodded.

“Yeah, he came in as Chief in a rough spot. Tried to change things,” Wolford said. “I don’t think he realised how helpful you’d be for us, Hopps. But some of us did, even when you started.”

“Really?” Judy said, looking rather hopeful. Wolford smiled, sharp teeth coming out.

“Fang told us how well you did in the academy. Me, him, a few others… we reckoned you’d make the cut, when you got your chance.”

Judy blinked. “I never knew,” she said thoughtfully.

Wolford chuckled. “You know, when I’m out on the beat, every so often the littler ones ask after you. _‘What about Officer Hopps? Can she help with this?’_ ” he mimicked in a higher tone.

Nick chuckled. “You’re a sought-after bunny, Carrots.” Judy just smiled back at him.

“Speaking of which,” Wolford said, checking his watch again, “pretty soon you’re ‘sought-after’ by the ZPD. We should get going in a minute.”

“Okay,” Judy agreed. She got up off the bed, checked her pockets, and looked over at Nick. Nick recognized that look; she was deciding what to do with him.

Nick pulled the cover back up and rested back on the pillows more, looking like he was ready for more sleep. His bright eyes were still on Judy, though. The unsaid message was clear: _Let’s not make a scene in front of our co-worker._

Judy admitted to herself she wanted desperately for one more hug from Nick, but knew it might not be the best idea right now. She settled with walking around to Nick’s bedside and laying a paw on his forearm. “See you soon,” she smiled.

Nick was struck by a rather strong impulse to grab this bunny and not let her go, but pushed that aside with a cool smirk. “Before you know it, Carrots,” he said sleepily.

Wolford got up and returned the chair to its place. “Get well soon, Fox,” he said with a wave as he headed out of the room.

“Seeya, Wolf,” Nick called. His gaze turned to rest on Judy, still standing there, still with that deciding look.

“The predator needs his sleep, Carrots,” he said, taking gentle hold of her paw and moving it off him. _Another time_ , his eyes said.

Judy nodded, but then leaned down and whispered in his ear. “I love you.” She felt like she needed to say it. And suddenly, Nick felt like he needed to hear it.

“I love you too,” he whispered back with a grin. “Now get going, brave bunny.”

With a grin and a spring in her step, Judy made her way out and caught up with Wolford. Nick watched her disappear around the corner. Then he looked out the window; it was growing brighter, but still far too early, really.

“Too much energy, that one,” he mumbled to himself, rolling over and pulling the blanket up to his shoulders. He fell easily back to sleep with a smile glued to his muzzle.


	11. Concerns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy visits the billing address the caller used to purchase his phone.

Wolford slowed the cruiser to a stop in front of Precinct One in what Judy noticed was remarkably good time; it was just hitting five to seven. The tan stone of the Precinct and the courtyard around seemed bright as ever in the morning sun. They did not match Judy’s mood. At all.

“Thanks, Wolford,” Judy said, opening her door and preparing to hop out. “Um, you know you can’t park here, though, right?”

Wolford shook his head in the middle of a huge yawn. “Not parking. I’ve got the morning off, Hopps. I was up most of the night.”

“Oh, of course,” Judy said quietly. “Sorry, I guess -”

“No, don’t be,” Wolford interrupted, holding up a paw to stop her apology. “Like I said, we owe you. Not the first time I’ve been on watch, either,” he smiled.

Judy nodded and hopped out, not feeling entirely reassured. Being under guard, making her fellow officers miss sleep… it was hard not to feel demeaned by that. _Don’t let it get to you,_ she reminded herself, echoing her favourite fox’s mantra. She pulled the cruiser’s door shut with a little effort and headed for the driver’s side.

Wolford leaned out the window. “I’ll park this in the garage and head off. See you later, Hopps.”

“Bye Wolf, and thanks again,” Judy answered, having to practically crane back to speak up to him. Wolford waved as he moved the cruiser off, and Judy headed for the Precinct doors.

Things were somewhat quiet in the Precinct this morning. Most of the foyer’s patrons were officers or detectives, talking over coffee or getting ready for shifts. Clawhauser was eating breakfast at the front desk, a large bowl of sugar-frosted cereal. Judy waved and said hello but didn’t idle, making for the bullpen before she became late.

Eyes followed her as she made her quiet way to her usual seat. Conversations faltered or stopped entirely as some of the officers watched Hopps, then slowly resumed after she’d taken her seat. It wasn’t until Judy sat that she clicked why – it was the first meeting since Bogo had announced the case. They’d be concerned, she guessed. She sighed – _despite everything I’ve done here they still sometimes see me as a helpless little bunny._

“Morning, Hopps,” Officer McHorn said as Judy took her seat. “You alright?”

Judy felt like rolling her eyes. _I’d be better if everyone gave me a break._

“Fine,” she returned, with a glance up and a little smile. “You?”

The rhino shrugged. “Not bad. Heh, we’re all a little worried about being stung with Night-Howler.”

Judy just nodded, not knowing how to respond her that. Anxious as she was about her situation, she realised it was a different kind of fear for the bigger, stronger mammals. She was scared for herself. They were scared of what they could do to others.

“Good thing we’ve got the antidote,” she mentioned.

McHorn raised an eyebrow. “ _Most_ of us have the antidote,” he corrected. “They can only make the stuff so fast. About a quarter of the squad cars have a dose now, I think.”

“They started with the biggest, I hope?” Fangmeyer joked from beside McHorn.

The rhino chuckled. “No, they started with the _smallest_. Hopps could use it more than you or me.”

“Good point,” Fang nodded. “You’ll just have to pin me down if I go crazy, McHorn.”

“Piece of cake,” he gruffed. Judy smirked. She’d seen a savage jaguar up close, and it wasn’t something she thought even McHorn would want to tangle with. A tiger would only be bigger, stronger, and tougher _._ She pushed those worrying thoughts aside and listened to the relaxed babble of the bullpen. She liked the noise; it sounded normal. Everyday. Comforting, really.

The hippo lieutenant called the officers to attention as Bogo entered. The cacophony of grunts and howls was rather subdued this morning; the mammal’s hearts didn’t seem to be in it.

“Alright,” Bogo said tiredly as he took the podium, and the noise fell away immediately as the officers sat. “Let’s get started, shall we?” he said, looking around at the assembled mammals. “Hopps. The TUSK team has radioed all clear. Get out to one-one-six Northoak Terrace and assist them with the investigation.”

“Yes, sir,” Judy said eagerly, hopping clear over the table to get her file from Bogo quicker. He gave her what was almost a knowing smirk. She endured it easily, grateful to have something useful to do. No matter what the circumstances, they were bearable if she was helping.

“Delgato, Fangmeyer; Rainforest Patrol,” Bogo continued. Judy heard them sighing and starting to complain as she left, before what must’ve been a stern look from Bogo shut them up. She grinned to herself as she headed for the garage. Rainforest wasn’t the worst patrol, in her opinion, but most of the officers hated the wet fur one gets after a shift, especially Delgato with his mane.

Judy retrieved her key from the garage and climbed up into her cruiser, glancing almost instinctively to the side at the empty chair. She sighed, turned the key and started manoeuvring out of the garage.

“Probably gonna be a long day without you, slick,” she murmured to herself.

 

-

 

It took about an hour to get to Northoak Terrace. Judy noticed Fangmeyer and Delgato’s cruiser accompanying her most of the way through Central, before they split off to start their patrol when the two of them entered the Rainforest District. Judy continued on northeast, twisting through the narrow, spiralling roads of the district.

After getting through the dense, multi-layered part of town closest to Central, the air cleared a bit as Judy drove out further east. The foliage was somewhat sparser and the canopy was broken more often, and there were fewer automatic sprinklers amongst the vines and treetops. The roads became more bridge-like as the large river that cut through town split into a delta that criss-crossed the land. The houses that occupied these little island-like spits of land were grander and statelier, but still had that wet, rustic wooden look of the rainforest.

Northoak Terrace itself resided on one such sunny peninsula, a long, thin piece of land that ran alongside the channel to the Meadowlands. The road was a few hundred meters long and accompanied on both sides by rich, serious houses, often surrounded by gates and pointed iron bars. The residents here definitely took their security seriously, Judy noted. And with good reason – all the houses were beautiful, not one smaller than two stories.

In a stark contrast to the rest of the district, Northoak was framed on both sides by massive oak trees, towering over even the tallest houses and shading large parts of the road. They formed an unusual canopy compared to the rest of the district. Judy rather liked it; it certainly felt more open and clear, and the breeze coming in from the water kept the road cool, something that couldn’t be said for the rainforest center this time of morning.

Judy drove slowly down the terrace, keeping an eye out for 116. It wasn’t hard to spot – about halfway down the terrace one driveway was practically besieged with police vehicles, including a huge TUSK van. The heavily armoured beast had four pairs of wheels and looked closer to an armoured personnel carrier than any sort of normal delivery van.

Judy parked the cruiser as close as she could on the street, locked up and headed for the house. It seemed typical of this street – three stories tall, with wood walls and a clay tiled roof. It seemed solid and warm despite the old-fashioned materials. A TUSK officer by the front door noticed her as she made her way down the driveway.

“Morning, Officer Hopps,” the boar gruffed. He had rough, spiky brown fur, beady eyes and a hefty pair of sharp tusks that made Judy a tad nervous. “House is clear, feel free to go in. We’re taking inventory right now, so look, but don’t take anything.” He opened the front door for her.

“Okay, thanks,” Judy said, heading inside. More boars and other large mammals were bustling around, some with cameras or notepads, taking photos and noting findings. Judy ran her eyes over the entranceway, mind already racing with ideas of finding clues and connections and taking this caller down –

Only, the entranceway was spotless. Not a single item on the walls, no photographs or paintings. Judy kept searching. The living room was the same, seeming devoid of anything personal, anything that makes a house a home. Nothing in the cabinets, or drawers, or dressers, or bookcases. Only the furniture and a TV left behind.

“Is the whole house like this?” Judy asked a different boar after she’d checked the living room. The boar shook his head.

“You want the bedroom on the top floor,” he said, pointing out the way to the stairs. Judy thanked him and started heading up, but couldn’t help having at least a look over each of the rooms in the second level. All the same, all cleaned out spotless. Like a house that’d never been bought.

Curiously, she ascended the final level and started looking about for the master bedroom. A brown bear noticed her standing at the top of the stairwell and waved her over. “Hopps, over here. You’ll want to see this.”

She followed him into what must’ve been the master bedroom. The walls were still bare. The mattress was gone from the bed, leaving only a wooden frame. The place looked scrubbed spotless, she noticed – from the windowsill to the skirting boards, everything about the room was a blank, clean white. There was only one noteworthy item in the room – the table.

“Here.” The bear handed her a pair of rubber gloves, tiny in his large paw. Judy donned them and stepped up to the table, which was designed for about her height. It was some sort of light wood, unremarkable. What was remarkable was the three items on the table.

Judy carefully took the left-most piece of paper. A birth certificate, of one Tertius Renart. Dated thirty-odd years ago. Born to one Holly Renart, no father listed.

 _He left this for me_ , Judy thought. She knew now what she had been suspecting since yesterday; it’s another calculated clue. The whole house would be cleaned of prints, DNA, any kind of evidence, she was sure of it. Hell, the criminal may have never even set hindpaw in here. _He didn’t mess up by leaving a billing address,_ she thought _. He knew we’d come._

Judy examined the second item. A photograph, of one fox. Expression blank, perhaps even a tinge depressed. He had reddish fur, perhaps a few shades darker than Nicks, and dark blue eyes, almost grey. But more than that, his gaze at the camera was… almost dead, really. As if any brightness had already left those eyes long ago.

With a little shiver, Judy put the picture back on the table, and checked the third item. A handwritten note, three lines printed clear and rigid on yellow paper.

 

_You think you saved the city, Hopps. Delivered it out of the hooves of a would-be tyrant._

_Zootopia is a doomed city built on a broken premise. It cannot be fixed._

_You will know this before I’m done._

Judy put the note back on the table. She expected fear, or nervousness, to well up inside her, but instead, she found herself getting angry.

“Thank you,” she said, taking off her gloves and giving them back to the bear officer. “Can you have these taken to forensics when it’s clear?”

“Of course,” the bear nodded. “Are you heading out?”

“I’m done,” Judy almost snapped. She stomped down the stairs, not even sure what she was furious about. Maybe the caller, Tertius. Maybe his message about Zootopia.

“That was quick, Hopps,” the boar at the front door said when he saw her returning. “Got somewhere to be?”

“I’ve got a suspect to talk to,” she growled. For the first time, Tertius talked about someone _other_ than her. The hooves of a would-be tyrant.

_Time to talk to an old enemy._

**Author's Note:**

> update coming soon(tm)


End file.
